Put Together Again
by KYfarmergirl
Summary: Jacob was left broken after Bella's final decision. But immediately a stranger comes into his life. Can she be the one to put Jacob's broken pieces back together again? Find out. My summary stinks but the story is alot better
1. Being Broken

**Author's Note: This is my first time writing a fan fiction so I hope you all like it. Before read you the story though I would like to add that I have nothing against Reneesme or Edward and Bella. In fact I love the way Stephanie Meyer ended Breaking Dawn. This story just sort of popped in my head one day and I couldn't stop thinking about it. At this point I don't even know how the story is going to end so I guess we will both find out. Enjoy….**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters in my story. As you could probably tell I'm not Stephanie Meyer.

1. Being Broken

JPOV

I knew that Bella always belonged to Edward even when I still fought so hard to keep her. I kept trying to tell myself that there was hope and that she really did love me. The second part was true. But even without consciously thinking that the first was not really true I knew somewhere in my subconscious that Bella never belonged to me. Nor would she ever belong to me.

As I realized this a howl ripped from my chest and I knew that my bothers (well sort of my brothers) could hear me. I knew they wouldn't bother to phase knowing that I howled for only one reason. It was because I was broken. They would never understand how much Bella meant to me, and still does. Even if they can hear my thoughts they can never fully understand. They keep telling me that I need to move on but I can't even if I wanted to. Which scares me because I don't want to move on without Bella. Maybe I never will.

It has been a month since Bella married Edward. She'd told me the day of her wedding that after everyone left that no one could see her again. At least not for a while anyways. I knew what that meant and a wave of anger rolled down my spine. "Calm down Jake, I can't hurt her" I told myself reassuringly. No matter how much I despised Edward for taking her away from me I couldn't hurt him. It would kill her and I even knew that I couldn't fix her no matter how hard I tried. It was a simple fact, Bella just loved him more and there was nothing I could do or say to change her mind. Believe me I tried.

I tried to push the thought away but only to have a new and more depressing thought occurr. What's going to happen to me? I slowed down to a stop as I reached the beach. I knew better than to be in such a noticeable location seeing as how I was a gigantic wolf standing in the middle of the beach at night but I couldn't make myself leave. What was going to happen to me? The question repeated in my mind.

I lay down on my stomach weighing the possibilities, which I realized, wasn't in my favor. Maybe nothing was going to happen to me. Maybe I wouldn't change. Maybe I would simply be forever broken.

The fact was obviously simple but did far more damage than words could ever describe. I was in love with a hopeless cause and couldn't find my way around it. It was like trying to breathe without any lungs, simply impossible.

"_What's impossible?" _Seth asked innocently.

I guess I was wrong about my brothers not phasing.

"_Don't forget about Leah to. You know how much she hates it when we refer to her as a brother. Which I could sort of see her point."_

I could see the image of Leah's angry face through Seth's mind and I saw him shudder.

"_Anyway, why would I not phase, I heard you howling from my room. I thought you needed help."_ He replied innocently once again.

I saw an image of Bella smiling up at me then quickly locked away the thought even though I knew it was to late.

"_Oh, sorry Jake I didn't realize…I guess I'm a little slow in that department."_

I looked at his apologetic face and smiled. Seth was like a little brother, except he wasn't a brat.

"_S'okay. Count your blessings that you're still slow in that department." _I emphasized the truth behind the words.

_"I've always been able to see what you are going through but I don't really understand it."_ He spoke mostly to himself.

_"Don't worry, when you fall in love you'll know exactly what it is."_ I could see horror go through his mind mixed with a little bit of disgust. I smiled to myself as I took in his reaction. He really was just like a younger brother.

_"Minus the bratty stuff though right?"_ He asked hopefully.

_"Believe me Paul is a big enough brat to make up for everyone else."_ I reassured him.

_"I betcha Leah would disagree."_ He laughed. He remembered all the times he played jokes on her and the outcomes of those jokes when she finally realized what was going on. Seth shuddered again. I laughed as I saw her call him everything from a dork to a pain in the butt.

_"Yeah, but Leah would also fit safely under the category of a brat, so I wouldn't worry 'bout it to much."_ I said as I looked up at the stars. I heard Seth's thoughts as he remembered something Sam told him to remind me.

_"Oh yeah Jake, I almost forgot. Sam told me to tell you that someone was coming over from the other reservation. He wanted you to know just in case you accidentally showed up at Emily's looking like a wolf. He didn't want to freak her out since he figured that she would be staying for a while." _

I looked at him with curiosity. Who was he talking about? Seth answered before I even asked the question.

_"I don't know. Only that she is coming from the other rez. Emily knows her though so I guess maybe they're related. Who knows? Sam told me her name but I forgot."_ He looked up at the sky.

I saw him trying to remember what Sam had told him but he couldn't trigger it.

"_Oh well, guess we'll find out tomorrow." _He said with a smile.

He looked at me and started to wonder whether he should wait with me until I leaved or go away to give me some privacy. I decided that I had thought too much already for one day and that I should call it a night.

"_Race ya?" _Seth asked eagerly.

"_On your mark_…" I said answering his question.

"_Let's go!" _he yelled in his thoughts.

Then all of a sudden we were running as fast as lightening down the beach. Once again, Sam wouldn't like this. As if anyone could even get a glimpse at us as we ran. I barely beat him to my house that we reached in less than thirty seconds. I was a lot stronger than Seth but he was becoming faster than me everyday. Even for such a young werewolf, he was skilled.

"_Thanks." _Seth said smiling at my approval.

"_I wouldn't let it get to my head though, Collin is pretty fast and he is getting better everyday as well." _I warned.

"_Ah, I could beat Collin any day." _He answered smug.

"_See ya Seth."_

"_Oh yeah I almost forgot again." _He hurried his words before he forgot them.

"What now?"

"_Sam told me to tell you to drop what your doing tomorrow evening. He wants us all to give that one girl a warm welcome. I bet Emily is planning to throw a party for her. Sam said she's been through a lot but wouldn't go into further details. I wonder what it is." _

He thought of different scenarios of what could have happened to the girl but then was suddenly conscious that I could still hear him. He cleared his thoughts and asked me a question,

"_So will you be there. Sam wants to know so she can tell the girl what to expect. He thinks it is important to make sure she feels welcome." _He said as his mind wandered again.

"_Sure, sure I'll be there."_

"_Okay, I'll tell Sam. See ya Jake."_

I phased back and pulled my jogging pants back on. I walked quickly through the door and quietly walked to my room. Billy was asleep; I could hear him snoring from his room. I glanced at the clock setting next to my bed on the floor. 3:00 a.m. Not a surprise for me to get home this late but compared to all the other times it was still pretty early to me. At least I could get some sleep for tomorrow.

"Great a party." I mumbled to myself.

Like I was up for celebrating anything right now. Oh well at least there might be food involved. I hate special occasions especially since there wasn't anything so special about it. Why would tomorrow's "special" occasion be any different from the rest of them?

**Authors Note: I know, this chapter was a bit of a bore but I had to find some way to set up the good stuff. I promise I'll do better. If you don't like something I'm doing feel free to criticize. Believe me you wont hurt my feelings I get it all the time. Also if you liked what I'm doing so far feel absolutely free to compliment. I like those better anyways. Lol. If I get some reviews though it will help out a lot and you never know, you may inspire me.**


	2. Wake Up Call

Author's Note: I'm trying to stick with using Jake's point of view from now on because I wrote a chapter in Cora's (a

**Author's Note: I'm trying to stick with using Jake's point of view from now on because I wrote a chapter in Cora's (a.k.a. the "stranger" who comes into Jake's life) point of view and it was pretty bad. Believe me you would've hated it. So I hope this one turns out better.**

Disclaimer: The characters in this story do not belong to me but belongs to the awesome Stephanie Meyer.

2. Wake Up Call

JPOV "STOP!" I yelled as I sprang up in my bed. Whoa. What just happened? I looked over at my clock and it said that it was 5:00 in the morning. As I sat in the darkness of my room I suddenly realized the reason for the unexplained wake up call whenever my mind was brought back to my recent dream.

Bella was in my arms as I cradled her protectively in the forest that was just beside the beach. Then all of a sudden Edward appeared and smiled at me. I grew angry and started to run away with Bella but she suddenly unwrapped her arms from my waist and took a step toward Edward. She looked back at me and whispered "Goodbye Jacob." I reached for her hand and whispered in return "Don't, please." Her hand dodged mine as she walked toward Edward once more. I started to go after her but then she slowly turned around and said, "Let me go." Then she took off toward Edward and was about to place her hand in his until I yelled, "STOP!" Then I was sitting up in bed.

I put my head in my hands and I found it difficult to breath. "Just a dream. Just a dream." I mumbled to my self. I knew before I even spoke the words that this was a lie. I didn't even see the end of my dream but I still knew how it would have eventually ended, how it had ended.

I was then shaking from head to toe as that fact settled in. I had to go, I had to get away because I knew I wouldn't be able to control myself, at least not tonight. I imagined what would happen to Billy if I didn't leave now and I ended up losing control. This made me shake that much harder. I wasn't going to do that to him so I jerked my self out of bed and was running for the front door. I could her Billy snoring from his room and I began to run even harder to the only sanctuary I could find. I plunged myself into the forest and jerked my jogging pants off. A half-second later I exploded out of my human skin and was running through the trees full speed ahead.

I breathed in deeply as I ran as hard as I could away from everything. I relished on the relief I was beginning to feel but then I realized I wasn't alone.

"_Shoot." _A stream of angry and frustrated thoughts went soaring through my mind.

I could hear Paul's thoughts as he turned to Sam. _"Looks like we have company. So what's Jacob up to tonight?" _I could hear the humor coming out in his thoughts.

"_None of your business." _I replied bitterly. But I couldn't help spilling the beans to them anyways as what happened ten minutes ago replayed in my mind. I could see Sam's sorrow filled thoughts as he took in my obvious pain.

"_Paul, I think me and Jacob can take care of everything from here on. Why don't you go back home and get some rest." _Sam implied smoothly. Or so he thought.

"Jeesh Sam, I already know what your thinking no need to sugar coat it." Paul wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the pack but he wasn't slow.

He growled. _"Heard that! I'm outta here." _I could see the trees flying past Paul as he ran home then suddenly I couldn't hear his thoughts anymore. Sam was still thinking about what I showed him. He abruptly refocused and took in my surroundings.

"_Don't move I know where you're at and I'm on my way." _He started running towards me and I could see why he wanted Paul to leave.

"_Sam I'd rather not talk about this." _It came out sharper than what I wanted it to.

"_I know. That's why you are going to."_ Heanswered in the same tone as he came and stood a few feet away from me. He tried to think of the right thing to say and I could tell he didn't really want to talk to me about this either.

"_You're right, I don't want to talk about this. I can see how much it's tormented you. And it still does. Jacob, you have got to get over Bella. She chose a different path that you are still walking on. You need to get off of it Jake." _He said seriously as he tried to block a thought out of his mind.

"_You are hiding something from me aren't you?" _I asked strongly as if I could make him tell me. I saw picture of Emily's face as he tried to block the thought again. Finally he controlled it.

"_Yes but that's not the point at the moment."_ He spat at me. I could tell he really wanted me to listen to him so I gave him my full attention.

"_Go ahead then." _I mumbled dreading this conversation.

"_Jacob, I know how much you care for Bella. Heck your in love with her but." _He hesitated. _"You need to forget about her. Move on. You can't have everything. Believe me I know."_

I didn't have to hear his thoughts to know what he meant by that. I already knew how that he was in love with his high school sweetheart, Leah, before he imprinted on Emily. No matter how much he cared for Leah and loved her, Emily would always have him. His love for Emily didn't replace Leah's but it overcame it. He knew that Emily would always belong to him and he would always belong to Emily.

Sam's thoughts turned to pure grief. _"You don't know how it's tortured me as well. I never wanted to hurt Leah. But what could I have done? I can sort of see Bella's side. She never wanted to hurt you either Jake but she was already taken and she already had someone. No matter what happened Bella would always be bound to him. Even if he never came back and she decided to be with you, a part of her would still be in love with him."_

"_Don't say that! I never was given my chance." _I knew I had just lied to myself again. I had already had my chance. A part of me knew Sam was right but the other part of me couldn't stop myself from denying it.

"_See, you agree with me without even saying it. You can't always help what happens in life. You just have to get over it before it gets you." _He pointed out.

I hung my head down knowing that in every word he used contained awful slices of the truth that I was avoiding. What now? I knew that Sam was right but what was I supposed to do about it?

"_Well I've always heard that the first step to recovering is admitting you have a problem." _He replied to my thought teasingly.

"_Ha ha. But in case you haven't noticed I'm not an alcoholic." _I snapped back at him.

"_I know. But whatever it is you need you know you've got a family to back you up."_ Sam laughed a little. _"We've been through more than enough to at least offer you some sort of advice."_

"_Now that I would definitely have to agree with." _I said with a laugh to my thoughts.

I knew that my chances of getting over Bella were slim. I couldn't even begin to picture myself getting over her. I had to try though, even if my effort turned out to be completely worthless. Sam smiled to himself and I could hear the approval in his thoughts. I then remembered something about Sam's thoughts. Something he was keeping from me.

"_I guess I had better tell you now to get it over with. Did Seth happen to mention to you about the girl who is coming to stay with us?" _Sam asked.

"_Barely. I don't think he was really paying much attention to you when you told him about the new girl. He couldn't even remember her name."_

I could hear the word "Cora" as it crossed Sam's mind.

"_Oh so that's what her name is. Better remember that I guess." _I made myself a mental note to not forget her name. That would be embarrassing.

"_So I take it that you plan to show up at her "welcome home" party Emily is throwing her." _Sam asked hopefully. I could see that he hoped it would get my mind off things.

"Is Emily planning on cooking?" I asked always ready for whatever Emily cooks.

"_Duh_." Sam remarked as if there was a chance that Emily wasn't going to be cooking something.

"_Then count me in."_

"_Good. Emily will be pleased that you're coming." _He tried to say reassuringly as another thought slipped from his mind. This time it was to late to try and hold it back I had already seen it.

"_I wouldn't get my hopes up Sam." _I could see his idea of me being happy as the foggy image of a figure stood beside me.

"_Can you blame me for hoping. Besides you never know maybe you might like her." _He said with a smile.

Once again I saw blurry image of the girl that I supposed was Cora as it reentered Sam's thoughts. I looked at him with a puzzled expression. Why couldn't I see the girl? Or Cora, whatever her name was?

"_I don't really know what she looks like. Emily used to be very close to her older sister though. But then she was killed in a car wreck and Emily has pretty much adopted her as a little sister. Cora means a lot to Emily and she has been going through a lot lately." _I could hear the pity that came from Sam's thoughts.

"_What happened to her besides her sister getting killed. That alone though would be enough to destroy her. I couldn't imagine that happening to Rebecca and Rachel." _I was also feeling sorry for her.

"_Her mom and dad got a divorce a couple of months ago. Her dad left Cora and her mom with a note saying that he wanted a divorce. It made her life much more complicated. Emily says that Cora really loved her father and was closer to him than her mother. Which I have met Cora's mom and I could really see why." _Sam said sympathetically as he remembered seeing Cora's mom.

The image of Cora's mom was sort of attractive. She was slender, had short blonde hair, and looked extremely young for her age, which I guessed, was at least in the middle of forty seeing as how her oldest daughter used to be the same age as Emily. It wasn't like I had a crush on her or anything, I could think of someone way more beautiful and natural.

"_Don't let her looks fool you. She isn't a bad person but she likes to get her way and her way only. She's a bit controlling. Cora loves her and all but after what happened with her dad she sort of went crazy." _He explained.

"_I could see why." _

"_It only gets worse. I refuse to go into detail about this because Emily thinks that Cora should be the only one telling this. Also I think that Emily doesn't want the particular subject to "accidentally" pop up in a conversation." _Sam paused for a second making sure he wasn't saying too much. _"Cora has just been through exactly what you've been through except she was the only one who actually got hurt. From what I understand her boyfriend is a real…" _He stopped himself short trying not to give to much information away as the thoughts about the guy entered his mind._ "Anyway, she doesn't really have a real mother right now so Emily is stepping up to help her. She worries about her."_

I took all this information in about this stranger. I don't even know her and I'm worried about her. That was a lot to handle for a teenager. Especially if she had just gone through a little of the same thing I've went through. Wait a minute.

"_Why exactly are you telling me all this Sam?" _I asked suspiciously.Sam composed his thoughts before he spoke.

"_Jacob, before you over react I just thought that maybe you two would be good for each other. You could at least try to be friends with her, and then you never know…"_

I could see where his thoughts were taking him and I cut him off before he could even mentally suggest the idea.

"_Don't even go there. I'm still in love with Bella and it is going to take a lot more than a pathetic pair coming together to get over that. What ever your intentions are you might as well drop them." _I was becoming more irritated every minute I stood there. I turned my back on Sam and started to run back home but he stopped me.

"_Jacob wait." _

I turned around and there was angry in my words as I spoke _"What?"_

"_I apologize. Are you still coming?" _

"_Yes. I guess I should. It would mean a lot to Emily."_

"_It would. I'm not asking you to marry her Jacob. It was just a thought anyways. But at least be nice to her. She's been going through enough as it is." _I could sense that he would be watching me to make sure I was being nice to the new girl. I thought to myself "I'm not a complete jerk you know."

"_Not a complete jerk." _

"_Sure, sure." _I really did to get home though if I was going to at least get out of bed in enough time to make it to the party.

"_Yeah. Me to. Paul and I made sure we double-checked the area so we wouldn't have to worry tomorrow. I guess we can manage a day without any bloodsuckers, we didn't sense anything out of place." _

I could see that Sam didn't feel right about something. It was a strange sense that something was going to happen tomorrow. I could feel it to. Probably because I could see what Sam was feeling. He could hear me worrying.

"_Don't worry bout it. I'm sure that we both just need some rest." _He said mostly to himself.

Something was different but I couldn't be sure of what it was. We both started running back toward La Push and broke off from one another as we both headed home.

"_Remember what I said Jake."_

"_Sure, sure."_

I phased before he could hear the rest of thoughts on the subject. Most of my thoughts were profanities as I sweared myself up and down for having run into Sam tonight. It was hard enough trying to hold on to something that wasn't yours while someone else was at the same time pulling you away from it.

I crept silently back to my room and jumped onto my bed. It was a relief to know who the stranger was. I would try my best to be nice to her but I didn't want anything else. I've had my share of love that would last me a lifetime. Why would I want to try to get more?

**Authors Note: I know this chapter was a drag like the last one but the next chapter should be fairly interesting. Once again, plz review. **


	3. The Sound

Author's Note: Sorry for not updating sooner but I have being having extreme loads of homework lately

**Author's Note: Sorry for not updating sooner but I have being having extreme loads of homework lately. But I'm excited because now I'm finally getting into the good stuff of my make believe fantasy. Lol. Well, here it goes…**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story.

3. The Sound

JPOV

I woke up feeling awkward. It was like I had been asleep for a very long time. I looked out my window and it was getting lighter outside. (Or so I thought) I sat up trying to think if I'd had any more nightmares that were making me feel strange. I remembered that I didn't really have any specific dreams, just random images that floated swiftly in and out of my mind. There wasn't even an image of…

I let the thought escape my mind before I had a repeat of last night. Hmmm. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That was when I noticed that the sun was positioned in the wrong place. It usually shone from the left angle of my bedroom. Instead there was a faint glow coming from the right side. I quickly glanced over at my clock. I tried to take in the numbers that read 7:30 p.m. Whoa. How long have I been asleep? I then realized the feeling I had that felt strange. I was actually not tired but well rested. That was also very different. No wonder though, seeing as how I'd been sleeping since five this morning. That was ten and a half hours. Something in the back of my mind was telling me that I had made a mistake in sleeping this long.

"Darn it!" I said loudly as I hit myself on the forehead with the palm of my head. "Sam's gonna be ticked off."

I remembered that I was supposed to have gone to the "welcome party" that Emily had planned for the girl this afternoon. I knew that it would've meant a lot to Emily for all of us to be there. She considered us as her very own family in so many ways. The whole pack does. I began to feel bad for disappointing her. Sam would give me crap for this because he knew how much I meant to Emily. I could see through Sam's thoughts that she worried about me constantly. The least that I could've done was ease up her anxiety just a little by showing up to the get together that I know she'd put a lot of work into.

I jumped off the bed and went immediately to the shower. It still wasn't so late. Better to show up late than not show up at all, I thought to myself. Besides, I was feeling very hungry at the moment. I couldn't remember the last time I went this long without some sort of food.

I didn't need to wait on the hot water to kick in. The cool water quickly turned hot as soon as it hit my feverishly warm skin. As soon as I was clean I turned the water off not having any time to really enjoy it. I sprinted into my room and picked up the first pair of jeans I could find. I hunted through the waste dump that was my room searching for a clean t-shirt. It didn't take me long to realize that one, I didn't have any clean t-shirts. Two, I barely had any t-shirts left. That was the negative thing about being a werewolf. You could burst through your skin and it would come back unharmed. Couldn't really say the same thing for your clothes.

"Ugh!" I grumbled. I was beginning to get frustrated. Then I remembered that I had a button up shirt hanging in my closet that was seldom ever used. Why didn't I think to look there? I laughed a bit at the irony of the situation. The first place that normal people would look was there closets. I took the red flannel shirt from the rack and jerked it on. As soon as I buttoned it I pushed my sleeves up. Wearing long-sleeved shirts was a bit uncomfortable for me since my temperature stayed around one hundred and eight degrees.

I went quickly over to the door and forced my feet into my last pair of shoes I had left not bothering to un tie and then re tie them again. I laughed a little as I ran to Emily's house. I didn't really need to wear shoes at all. Just like I really didn't need to wear this shirt. I could live without it but I don't think people would really appreciate a half naked guy running around all the time. Even though it was summer here it stayed particularly cool.

I finally reached Sam and Emily's house. I could tell that everyone else had already left. I just still hope Emily had some food left over. I bet the girl, what was her name again? Oh yeah Cora. Well anyway I bet she thinks I a lazy bum for showing up this late. Not that I cared, but I did promise Sam that I would be nice to her and try to be her friend.

I walked upon the porch and all of a sudden I heard this sound. At that precise moment I was lost to everything else but the soft whimper of a cry. Without even thinking I opened the door and immediately started to walk toward the sound. Emily spoke what sounded like a greeting but I ignored it and continued to walk toward the alluring sound.

I couldn't explain how it called to me so. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to comfort whatever was hurting this thing that I wasn't even sure of. I walked past Emily and I heard her gasp and call for Sam.

Sam must have obviously realized my presence and started to say something but stopped, I tried to ignore him like I did Emily so I could go to the thing that was calling. But even as a human I still couldn't ignore Sam's voice. It held the same authority over me as if I were a wolf right now.

"Jacob stop." He said sternly.

Even though I heard him I continued to walk past him as well. The soft murmurs of the cries where becoming louder as I was drawing nearer to them though I knew they weren't increasing in sound. Sam was still saying things to me as I was descending down the hall toward one of their guest rooms but the sound was blocking him out.

Sam was suddenly behind me and put his hand on my shoulder as if to draw me back but it was to late. I had already opened the door.

**Author's Note: You guys must hate me for leaving a cliffhanger but I have my reasons for doing so. I need to work out some details for my up coming paragraphs. Review if you have any ideas or if you would like to comment. I would greatly appreciate it. **


	4. Seeing

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own any of the twilight characters

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own any of the twilight characters. I'm not that creative.

_Sam was suddenly behind me and put his hand on my shoulder as if to draw me back but it was to late. I had already opened the door._

4. Seeing

JPOV

I didn't even have to look directly at her face to realize why her crying called me. As I looked into the room I saw her back turned to me and turned towards the window. Then as I gazed toward the window I saw the reflection of her tear stricken eyes staring at the moon. Her face was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen but contorted with pain.

That's was all I needed to see, just a reflection. Then I knew that she was my soul mate, my other half…my imprint. Nothing else around me mattered but her. I was attached and not even Sam could break me from the thoughts that were swirling in my mind. I adored her.

In that same precise second the eyes that were reflecting in the glass turned downward and stared into my eyes. I couldn't move, I don't even remember breathing. She became aware of our presence and turned quickly so she could face us.

The face in the glass didn't do her justice. I took in her every detail, as she stood frozen in front of me. Her eyes, the first thing I noticed, were a dark green. It resembled the color of the forest when it was shadowed by the night. Her hair was a dark brown that was pulled back in a loose ponytail that showed every curve in her face.

She then became tense and started fidgeting like she was nervous about something. I could only imagine what she saw across my face. The immediate shock wore off of her and she blinked, letting a silver-piercing tear run down her face. I involuntary reached my right hand out to her. Why was she crying? I didn't want anything to hurt her.

At this thought that something had hurt her I began to shake. I watched as confusion spread across her face. I quickly snapped out of it as Sam whispered in my ear.

"Its ok Jake."

I shook my head from side to side as reality sank in. Sam took control of the situation and struck up a conversation with her.

"We didn't mean to disturb you." Sam said lightly. The girl became embarrassed as she wiped her face trying to erase the evidence of her tears. "Jake was just trying to get to the bathroom, I guess he picked the wrong door didn't you Jake?" He nudged me hard in the side with his elbow. Oh, I guess I should say something. I took my eyes away from _her _so I could frame a coherent statement.

"Yeah, sorry bout that Cora." My voice cracked a little at saying her name. I didn't realize how happy that made me feel whenever I said it.

I kept my head down so I wouldn't get lost in the wonder that was her eyes. But then I heard her warm voice. "That's ok." She said politely. I could feel that she wanted us to leave because she felt a little awkward. The thought of leaving made me sick to my very core. How was I supposed to leave her?

"Well I guess it would be a good idea if you went to the bathroom now wouldn't it Jake." Sam spoke also politely.

Though it devastated me I knew it would be the right thing to do at the moment. "Um, yeah. It was nice meeting you Cora." Thank God my voice didn't crack again like a thirteen year old but the same joy was still there. I looked back up to her again becoming lost in her eyes once more. I watched her as her small but full lips move swiftly.

"It was nice meeting you to um, what is your name exactly?" Cora's cheeks swelled with a soft hint of a red glow that filled her dark skin. I didn't notice that I had forgotten to answer her question. Sam nudged me again and I looked away as I tried to remember what she asked me. Sam sighed in aggravation at my lack of coherency.

"This is Jacob Black. He is a very good friend of Emily's and mine. We're practically brothers."

She giggled a bit. I loved the sound of it. I smiled without even really thinking about it.

"Isn't everyone?" she said teasingly.

Sam laughed to but it was full of nervousness. "Looks that way doesn't it? Come on Jake."

I nodded forcing myself to break away from her face. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to leave if I continued to stare at her.

"It was nice meeting you." She said softly.

I smiled to myself. "It was very nice meeting you to."

Sam turned toward the door making sure that I'd followed him. I looked up to see Emily biting her lip tears about to spill over. Sam paused at the door letting me pass by him then shut it quietly. He grabbed a hold of my arm and dragged me toward the kitchen, Emily following behind us.

Everything came back to me at once when I was able to think clearly. But surprisingly I didn't care about anything else. Not what Sam or the others would think, what Billy would think, how I was going to deal with this, and Bella. I pulled my eyebrows together in total shock. It didn't hurt anymore. I could even think about her and…well, there was nothing. No more pain. I remembered all those times that I told myself that I didn't want to forget about her. But now I could only see Cora's face.

A wave of desperation coursed through me as I remembered the pain I had seen in her face. I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms and tell her that everything was all right. I would never let anything hurt her. I swore to myself I wouldn't let it. I almost turned around to head right back into her room but Sam grabbed me by the arm.

"Jake what are you doing." He asked.

I shook my head snapping out of it again. "I'm not sure. Sam, I'm confused. I want so bad to go back in there. She was hurt I need to do something. But then again there's something telling me to leave her alone. I don't think I can do that."

Sam sighed knowing as soon as he had seen my face whenever I walked through the kitchen that I was going to imprint on Cora. "I understand completely Jacob. And I know that you won't be able to stay away from her. But remember to keep it slow."

Emily spoke up before Sam could say anything else. "Please listen to Sam he knows what he is saying. Jake, Cora's been through so much please keep that in mind." She continued to look at me then suddenly tears rolled down her face as she smiled. She reached up on her tiptoes to hug me around the neck. "Oh Jacob, I'm so happy for you. I know you are going to take good care of her." She sobbed.

"Do you really think she'll accept me Emily?" I asked trying not give away the pain that slide through my words at the thought that she might not.

Emily unwrapped her arms around my neck and put her hand to my face.

"It might not seem so at first. But you have to understand it takes time for a person to realize what they have. I know all about that." She replied looking back at Sam at the last part of her statement.

Sam in return gave her a smile and walked over to put a hand on her shoulder. He then kissed her softly on the cheek. "I think that me and Jake need to have a talk with everyone now." I growled a little at this thought. Sam gave me a look saying to get over it. "Tell Cora that we had to leave. I'll be back later."

"Ok." Emily reached up to Sam and kissed him swiftly on the lips. "I'll miss you."

Emily turned to walk down the hallway into Cora's room. What I would give to be in Emily's position right now. I wanted to look at Cora again. Reexamine everything else that I had missed about her.

Sam walked to the door watching me with one eyebrow raised and a grin forming on his face. "You up for a run?" he asked jokingly.

"Not really, but best to get it over with." I mumbled. The pack is going to be in for a surprise. I didn't really care about them except for Leah. She is going to give us all heck for this.

I walked out the door feeling like I had left everything in me back inside that house. I followed Sam running into the forest as I shut my eyes seeing only the one face.

**Authors Note: So what did ya think? Press the pretty little purple button at the left of your screen to let me know. The next chapter is on its way. **


	5. The Moon

Author's Note: Sorry for not updating sooner

Author's Note: Sorry for not updating sooner. I couldn't really decide on how I was going to do this chapter. But against my better judgment I decided to do it from Cora's point of view. I know I said I would keep it at Jake's but I couldn't help myself. I'll give you a fair warning; this chapter is a bit touchy. Well at least I thought so.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters. (Duh)

5. The Moon

CPOV

It wasn't really late, just around 9:00 p.m. But I felt overwhelmingly tired. Emily came and picked me up this afternoon. My mom wasn't home, no surprise there, so there were no goodbyes as I drove from the only place I ever knew as home. I hated that place it was more like a prison that forced horrible memories at you every time you walked in. It seemed as if it was one bad thing after the other, a never-ending cycle of tragedy. I hope I wouldn't bestow that on Sam and Emily. I would never forgive myself.

I tried not to think about it anymore and then refocused on the "welcome" party I had received. I dreaded it the most about coming to live here. Nothing's worse to me than an unwanted spotlight. Especially if all you want to do is disappear.

To my surprise it wasn't bad. I actually somewhat had a goodtime. Everyone was so friendly and relaxed except for one guy. His name was Paul. Sam told me that he had anger issues but was fun to pick on. Even though he seemed a bit edgy I sort of liked Paul. Well, not really Paul himself but his reactions. They always made me laugh which was why I liked him. I never laughed.

I've heard Emily talk about Sam before but it shocked me to see how kind he was. I knew as soon as I met him that we would get along. He felt like my fantasy big brother. For some reason I felt safe. I could tell that he and Emily belonged together just by the way they looked at each other. She loved him and he adored her.

I felt like I had been punched in the stomach at this thought. A surge of resentment, anger, and sadness coursed through me and I sat up on my bed. I could never be able to have that; my life simply wouldn't allow me to achieve that much happiness. "Stop it!" I yelled at myself. My negativity wasn't helping the trying-to-forget part.

I thought of everyone else I met this afternoon. It was hard to forget them they were all so alike yet different. Like twins but with different personalities. All the guys, let me think, Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry, Quil, Collin, Brady, and Seth looked exactly alike. Tall, muscular, cropped hair, and strong but each came with their own personalities.

Emily also mentioned to me that there was some other guy to that was supposed to come that was very close to her and Sam. I think his name was Jacob. She told me that he was going through a lot right now. I couldn't imagine a more pathetic scenario than my own.

I turned toward the window knowing that I would not be able to sleep now. It was then that I noticed a faint round glow staring back at me through the window. I stood up and walked towards the window with tears running down my face.

(Flash back)

"Sissy! Sissy! What are ya looking at?" I could see the six-year-old version of me trying to get my twelve-year-old sister's attention as she was staring out our bedroom window looking up at the night sky.

"The moon." She replied simply.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go there. Get away from all the bad things."

Our grandmother had just past away and we were very close to her.

"Oh. Are you talking about grandma sissy?" I asked innocently.

She turned around to look at me with a small smile on her face. She had been crying.

"I guess." She replied softly.

"Can I come and look at it too?"

"Sure."

I climbed onto her lap and looked up at the moon.

"Sissy. Will grandma come back soon?" I whispered.

"I'm afraid not Cora." She said as a tear slide down her cheek.

I started to cry to. I wanted grandma to come back but I hated to see my sister cry.

"It's ok Cora. Look," she pointed to the moon. "one day whenever we get older you and me are going to the moon."

"To get away from the bad stuff?" I said between sobs.

"Yes, it'll be just you and me."

I stopped crying and smiled up at her. She smiled back at me and wiped my eyes with a tissue.

"Lori! Cora! Get to bed!" our mom shouted from the hall. Lori rolled her eyes.

"Come on. We'd better get some sleep before mom has a cow." I giggled as Lori helped me off her lap and tucked me into bed.

"Love you sissy." I said as I began to get sleepy.

"Love you to Cora."


	6. Jacob

**Author's Note: Hey guys. Once again I did this chapter from Cora's point of view. Hope you all like. Also, I would like to give my undying gratitude to all of those awesomely cool people who left me reviews. You guys are the best.**

Disclaimer: I do not own none of the twilight characters…so on and so forth. (Y'all know the drill)

6.Jacob

CPOV

Tears continued to roll down my face as I was brought back to reality. I could see someone's reflection in the window that was standing a couple of feet away from my door and was inside my room. He was staring at me. I could also see the outline of Sam right behind the stranger. This wasn't the Sam I recognized. He seemed a bit sad but was tense.

I turned to face them with shock absorbing most of my coherency. I stared at the man who looked like a boy sort of. Like a teenager stuck in a 25-year-old man's body. I took in his expression. It looked like a blind man seeing light for the first time. It was dark so I couldn't really tell. Maybe he was just confused. Sam whispered something in his ear and he snapped out of it.

"We didn't mean to disturb you." I suddenly became very embarrassed as the shock wore off. I realized that I must have looked horrible with the condition I had recently been in. I was ashamed to let them see that I had been crying. I hated to cry.

Sam paused for a second also becoming confused. "Jake was just trying to get to the bathroom. I guess he picked the wrong door didn't you Jake?"

Oh. So this was Jacob I thought to myself. It explains the whole dark-skin, tallness, and big muscles. He looked down at the floor as he awkwardly tried to say something.

"Yeah, sorry about that Cora."

I smiled to myself with relief knowing I wasn't the only one who was a little embarrassed. I spoke as politely as I could. "That's ok." I continued to stare at him. Hmm. He was…sort of…might as well admit it…beautiful. Whoa. That was weird I think I needed him to leave now.

"Well I guess it would be a good idea if you went to the bathroom now wouldn't it Jake?" Thank God for Sam! I needed to get some fresh air.

Jake continued to stare at the floor while he spoke. He kind of looked sad. I felt bad remembering that he was going through a rough time right now. "Um, yeah it was nice meeting you Cora."

He looked back up to me and I suddenly wondered what his real name was. "It was nice meeting you to um, what is your name exactly?"

As he continued to look at me I felt, once again, embarrassed. Why was I letting him do that to me? I stared back at him as took in his features of his face. He really was beautiful especially his eyes. They were dark but humble almost liquid. His face was shaped like a man but with hints of boyish expressions. And his skin that defined his face was breathe-taking. It was russet-colored that appeared to be very warm.

I then realized that all the other boys had this same complexion. Why was Jacob's so different? I snapped out of it as Sam nudged Jacob and broke his gaze away from mine.

"This is Jacob Black. He is a very good friend of Emily's and mine. We're practically brothers." Sam said with a bit of aggravation.

I couldn't help myself from giggling everyone here was like brothers and sisters. "Isn't everyone?"

Sam laughed at my attempt to be funny. "Looks that way doesn't it? Come on Jake."

Jacob looked up at my face then turned his back to me as he and Sam headed for the door. I had to hear his voice again. It was husky-like and tranquil. I couldn't help myself.

"It as nice meeting you." I said wanting to punch myself in the face. Didn't we already have this conversation? Ugh. What is wrong with me?

"It was very nice meeting you to." He replied. I smiled for a brief second then it quickly turned back into a frown.

I knew this feeling and I've learned a painful lesson from it too. I couldn't set myself for another disaster that I had just run away from.

I could see him. Logan Whitaker: blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and white skin. Not to mention completely gorgeous. He stood out from all the other boys at the Makah reservation. He was what every girl at school wanted. It's sad to say that I was one of them, I still am.

I hated myself for letting him take advantage of me like that. And the worst part is that I never even did anything! When the first rumors were spread- well, you get what kind of rumors they were; no need for details- Logan denied that he ever said anything. So I trusted him naturally. Even though every one of my 'friends' told me he was the one who started them.

I became the laughing stalk at school. Logan on the other hand was worshipped. It wasn't until just a couple of weeks ago that I found out who he really was. I was going over to Logan's as a surprise for his birthday. He was turning seventeen. His parents were never home so I figured I should spend some time with him. When I got there I noticed someone's car in the driveway. I don't know much about cars but I knew that it was too nice to be Logan's.

I knocked on the door but Logan wasn't the one to answer it. Instead, it was a tall, skinny, brown-headed woman. She appeared to be from college as her hoodie described. Which in fact was the only thing she was wearing. Then Logan appeared behind her and started swearing and yelling at me. I don't even remember half of what he said. My heart had felt like it had been ripped out, thrown upon the ground, and then spat on. The only thing I remember clearly from the whole scenario was this:

"By the way Cora, I've out grown you. Consider yourself dumped." Logan snapped at me as he put his arm around the girl's waist and slammed the door in my face.

I should've at least hit the guy or maybe even the girl. But I didn't like the hurt pathetic 'little girl' I am. I didn't even say anything. And to think I trusted him, told him everything about myself. My desires, weaknesses, secrets, and plans. I allowed myself to fall in love with him.

All of that was truly horrific and volatile. But the worst part about it was that I still cared for him. And I absolutely hated myself for it. I couldn't bear seeing him at school and having everyone laugh at me for not being good enough for him. Thank God school ended last week. I didn't think I could've made it. I think the new rumor around Makah is that he got me pregnant. "I'm such an idiot." I mumbled to myself.

A light tap came from behind my bedroom door.

"Can I come in?" Emily asked.

"Um…" I made sure that I hadn't begun crying again. "Sure come on in."

Emily opened the door and gently shut it behind her. Then she came to sit beside me. I tried to control my emotions, as I appeared to be at least half normal.

"What's up?" I asked like any normal teenager.

"Nothing. Just seeing if you needed anything." She smiled at me like I was missing something.

"No I'm fine."

"You do know if you need anything at all…" she said assuring.

"I won't hesitate to ask." I said cutting her off.

Emily looked down at her hands that she was fidgeting. It looked like she was concentrating on something really hard.

"Do _you_ need to talk about something?" I asked.

"Yes. But we'll get around to it some day."

"Oh ok." Was the only thing I could manage to say. I was a little confused.

"Anyway." Emily said changing the subject. "What did you think about Jacob?"

I blushed a little as I recalled what happened a couple of minutes ago. "He seemed nice I guess. He didn't say much. But I didn't either so I can't really talk."

"Oh." She seemed a little disappointed but I couldn't really tell if that was it.

"He did seem sweet though." I said with a smile giving her a little information that might satisfy her.

It worked because she grinned and shook her head. "Jacob really is a sweet kid."

"Kid?" I doubted that Jacob was a kid. He was huge in a muscular drop-dead gorgeous kind of way.

"He's only sixteen." She replied innocently.

"That can't be right. I'm only fifteen, well getting ready to be sixteen and look at me!" I couldn't believe Jacob was only sixteen though I also knew that Emily would never lie to me.

Emily started to laugh. "Unusual I know. We must be feeding them some sort of miracle grow."

"Must be." I said laughing as well.

It got quiet after couple of minutes before Emily spoke. "Cora. Jacob needs a friend. I know you can help him you're the sweetest person I know and I have my share of very sweet people. And I also think that Jacob can help you to. Probably more than you can help him." She said in sort of a hurry.

"Emily I'm not sure if Jake even likes me enough to be his friend. I just met him."

"I know. It's just…I hate seeing you both in pain. I actually think that Jacob has already begun to get better." She stopped and sighed, looking at the wall as she collected her thoughts. "I know that you don't trust people, in some ways you don't even trust me."

I started to interrupt her in disapproval but she held up her hand in objection. I knew that what she said was true. If I really trusted her I would tell her every detail of what's going on with me. But I was afraid she would turn me away.

She put her hand on my cheek. "Give Jake a chance. Get to know him. You won't regret it." Once again Emily looked as if she was hiding something.

"I promise I will do what I can." I said honestly. But that was it. Doubt was written all over my face and Emily could read it.

"That will be enough." She said happily.

"Emily. How do you even know that Jacob will want to be _my _friend? Maybe he just wants to be left alone. I probably wouldn't make such a good friend anyway." I shrugged.

"I can just tell." She said with a smile. I looked at her like she was crazy. How could she possible know something like this? Jacob already was too good to be my friend. He was sweet and beautiful. I didn't deserve anything like that. Emily patted my back and gave me a quick hug. "You'll see someday."

"I think you've had to much sugar in system for one day." I said teasingly. "Do Sam a favor and lay off the rest of that cake."

"I'll try." She laughed.

I yawned involuntarily and suddenly became exhausted again.

"Goodnight Cora." Emily gave me another hug and silently walked out of my room.

I fell back unto my bed to sleepy to even get under the covers. It didn't take long before I slipped into easy unconscious. That night, for some reason, I dreamed of Jacob Black.

**Hope you guys liked. Do me a favor, if you did like it send me a review. It might encourage me to write more.**


	7. The Quilt and The Plan

**Authors Note: Sup guys. I finally got to post this chapter I've been gone all week almost. Oh well at least it's up now. This chapter is a little weird but I thought it was sweet. Tell me after you get done reading this chapter if I should do it from Jake's POV or Cora's. I can't decide.**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight. 

7. The Quilt and the Plan

Sam had called the entire pack together to give them the news. He did this also when Quil imprinted on Claire. He thinks it's important for everyone else to know since imprints have a big impact on the pack. _Almost_ everyone was happy for me. Except Leah. She was glad that I was finally over Bella but she didn't necessarily like her. But she also didn't like vampires either so Bella, in her eyes, was the enemy.

This sort of upset me even though I wasn't in love with Bella anymore. She was still my friend vampire or not. I knew that I would probably never get to she Bella again. I didn't want her to blame herself for hurting me anymore. There is only one person on this earth who could do that to me and I didn't even know her last name.

I felt sorry for Leah in the end. She constantly worried that she would never find someone and then she couldn't get her happiness. Leah deserves happiness just as much as me even though she can be completely heartless at times.

But besides Leah's negativity everyone else was…thrilled. As soon as they read my thoughts ten different kinds of joy washed through them. Some were glad to finally see me happy. Others were happy because they liked Cora and there would be a new member joining the 'pack'. (Or so I hoped.) And some like **Paul** for example was glad to obtain another cook.

I growled at him for that but then he just laughed. I wasn't allowed to fight with him ever since he imprinted on Rachel. She said she would black mail me if I were mean to Paul. I never will underestimate Rachel again. I did that one time and I still haven't lived that down. But that is another story in itself.

The meeting did not last long. Everyone wanted to get home and share the news. Especially Jared. Kim loved to make new friends and she was already fond of Cora. They even made plans to go shopping sometime. Poor Cora, someone should've warned her how big of a shop-alcoholic Kim is. I smiled to myself. Cora had only been here less than a day and already had acquired a new family.

I was walking around the beach in my human form. I needed some peace and quiet for a while. I wanted to think about Cora. I smiled to myself as I recalled all of her expressions. They were so innocent and child-like. Almost as if she had got caught doing something wrong. Then I thought about her eyes again. They were so mysterious. They hypnotized me every time I looked into them. Or maybe it was because they were so beautiful.

I automatically stood up from the seat I had made in the rocks and sand. I had to see her again. Even if she is asleep I had to check on her.

I started running down the beach and then cut through the forest as a short cut to Sam's. I didn't bother to change into my wolf form. I had to think of a way to get Sam to let me see her. I didn't really have a good excuse formed as I ran unto Sam's porch and knocked on the door. The lights were on so I guessed they haven't gone to bed yet. I heard the soft footsteps of Emily as she peered through the glass in the door. Then she turned the lock and opened it.

"Jacob. It's almost 1:30 in the morning. What are you doing here?" She scolded in a whisper. I could see little traces of delight on her face but also worry.

"You know why I'm here. I just want to see her." I said desperately. "Where's Sam?"

"He's asleep. And so is she." She said quietly.

" I wasn't going to wake her. Please can I stay for a little while?"

"What if she wakes up?" Emily asked with concern.

"I'll think of something. Come on Em, please?" I said giving her a bit of a puppy dog look.

Emily smiled. She loved the idea of me imprinting and wasn't about to stand in my way of being happy. I could tell that she would cave with joy as soon as I asked if I could see Cora.

"Go on." I walked past her but she grabbed my arm. I turned and she was smiling at me again. "Did I ever mention that I am so proud of you Jacob?"

"For what? Imprinting on a helpless girl against my will?" I asked teasingly.

"No. I know that you love her and you are going to be there for her. Your all grown up Jakey." She whispered with a short laugh.

"Thanks Em." I gave her a small hug. I walked past her towards the hallway.

I stepped up to the door and tried to calm my breathing I didn't want to wake her. I put my hand on the knob and exhaled as I pushed the door open. The room wasn't exactly big but it was big enough for her. She fit in easy with this room.

I walked in slowly and closed the door so the light wouldn't wake her. I lifted my gaze to the figure on the bed. She was beautiful. I'd never noticed what she was wearing before but she could wear corn sacks and pull it off. She wore a pair if navy ball shorts with a tattered gray t-shirt. Her legs were bundled up but I could still tell that she was somewhat tall for a normal human girl of course, but not as near as tall as me. Loose strands of hair were sticking out of her messy ponytail. I walked a little closer keeping my eyes on her. She had had her back turned to me but then she rolled over onto to her left side. She was shaking a little.

I looked around the room for something to put over her since she was on top of her covers. Then I suddenly remembered something I could use, something I could give her. I opened her window and hopped out. I then ran as fast as I could to my house. Billy was asleep so I wouldn't have to waste time on explanations. I wanted to get back to her.

I walked into my room and grabbed a warm quilt that my mom had made. She stitched in the main center of the blanket a large gray wolf howling. My mom always knew that the Quileute stories were true. I wanted Cora to have this. Even if she didn't know where it came from she would always have a part of me with her, keeping her warm.

Man was I sounding corny! I started to put the quilt back then I realized I really wanted her to have this. I folded the quilt in under my arm and ran back to Cora's window. I leapt back inside and shut it quietly.

I smiled as I heard her snoring lightly. I walked over to where she was laying and gently pulled the quilt over her. As soon as she was tucked in she relaxed. I bent over and kissed the top of her head. I wanted at that moment to wrap her in my arms so she could be safe and warm but I fought against the urge.

Instead I pulled a chair from the corner and sat it down right in front of her. I could sit there and watch her forever. It struck me then that I hardly knew anything about her. Hundreds of different questions racked through my brain that I wanted to know about Cora.

I had to get to know her. I thought of a plan to learn who she really was. I knew that I couldn't get any specifics about her personal life but I wanted to know the basics. That would be enough for now.

Tomorrow I could ask her to go with me to the beach. I would eat breakfast with her first so she wouldn't think I was trying to get her to date me. What she needed right now was a friend. I was going to do my best to be that friend before I considered anything else even though I was already madly in love with her. I wasn't going to hurt her. I wasn't going to allow my self.

It started to get lighter and I decided to go home to get some rest so I wouldn't feel like a zombie whenever I was going to be running patrol all day today. I stood up and carefully placed my chair back in the corner. I went back over to Cora and pushed a lock of hair away from her face.

"See you tomorrow." I barely whispered.

**So finally Cora and Jacob are actually going to get to know one another. Have any ideas? The more reviews I get the sooner I will think of an idea because I'm in a bit of writer's block at the moment. I promise I won't bit your head off or anything. ******


	8. Friends

**Author's Note: I'm back! I'm a bit iffy on this one. I wasn't sure if you would like this or not but I'm not really that creative so here it goes….**

Disclaimer: I so solemnly swear that I do not own anything from Twilight that you may read about in this story.

8. Friends

JPOV

While on 'wolf patrol' I was incredible anxious. This time I was running with Quil and Embry. All day I couldn't stop thinking about Cora. Quil thought it was sweet but I was getting on Embry's nerves.

"_Jeez, Jake if you don't stop thinking about Cora you're going to make me have a crush on her."_ Embry said annoyingly through his thoughts.

I stopped and both Embry and Quil turned. I was growling viciously.

"_Come on Jake you know Embry is just kidding…relax."_ They didn't have to read my thoughts to know I was fighting mad.

Embry chuckled. _"No offense dude. Cora just isn't my type." _

"_No one's _your_ type Embry."_ Quil said cackling a laugh.

Embry shrugged indifferently. He didn't really care about finding anyone. He was content with his life right now and thought girlfriends and such as a pain.

"_You got that right."_ Embry implied. Then he started laughing to at a recent memory of Quil and Claire. Claire had dressed Quil up like a princess and she decorated his whole face with lipstick. I started laughing at Quil's embarrassment when Embry had walked in on them.

Quil smiled as he thought of Claire. _"That little girl can embarrass the crap out of me but I wouldn't trade it for nothing." _

Embry was still laughing. _"God forbid if I ever imprint, I sure hope it isn't on a two-year-old."_

Quil shook his head. _"You may say that now but just wait till you meet her. You wouldn't trade it for anything."_

I started thinking of Cora again.

"_Here we go again." _Embry muttered. Quil looked at me with sympathy. He also couldn't wait to get home so he could see his imprint, Claire.

Then all of a sudden I let my plan to get to know Cora slip.

"_This will be interesting to watch." _Embry thought as he imagined me messing something up and doing something stupid.

"_Embry we are definitely doing patrol tomorrow." _Quil exclaimed excitingly. They were still hoping that I would screw up.

"_What pals." _I said sarcastically. _"And no your not doing patrol tomorrow. It's Paul and Jared's turn." _I grinned as I remembered that.

"_Do you think that'll stop us?" _Embry asked evilly.

"_If it doesn't I will." _I threatened.

Embry grinned and Quil rolled his eyes. _"Come on, let's get this over with so we can get some sleep." _Quil said annoyed that we weren't even half way done with our rounds.

"_Fine." _Embry and me thought at the same time.

Then we split up and ran the perimeter of La Push. _"I sure hope I don't screw up."_ I thought to myself. Then I heard Quil and Embry chuckle.

I rolled my eyes blocking their thoughts and ran harder.

* * *

CPOV

I woke up this morning to the smell of food pouring into the kitchen. It was only 9:30 a.m. Ugh. I hated to get up early but I was also hungry. That smell was just too good to ignore. I closed my eyes and stretched. That was when I noticed something long and warm covering me. It was also very soft.

I sat up and looked at the beautiful quilt that was dropped over me. It had a reddish tint to it with dark navy blue patterns stretched across it. But the thing that caught my attention the most was an astounding, gray-colored wolf stitched right in the middle. I couldn't tell what the quilt was made from but it was so comfortable. If it wasn't for the food I wouldn't have been able to pull it off of me so I could get up.

I got off of the bed a little groggy-like. It had been a hard day yesterday but I couldn't be anymore glad at how smoothly things had gone. I stretched popping my arms and back while yawning. Then I took the quilt and started to fold it. I wonder where it came from?

* * *

EPOV

I woke up this morning to the sound of Sam snoring in my ear. I turned over and kissed him softly on the nose. It must have waked him because he smiled and the snoring stopped but only for five seconds. Then the snoring continued and got even louder.

I sat up and hopped out of bed. I looked down at Sam. I wondered how I can even sleep period with that kind of snoring. I smiled and went over to the door. But before I could even open it I stepped on, what felt like, a piece of paper.

I bent down to pick it up. My name was written sloppy across the folded piece of paper. I looked at it with confusion and unfolded it quickly.

_Hey Em, _

_Tell Cora that she can have it. I want her to. Don't ask me why I want her to have it because I don't know either._

_Jacob_

_P.S. You'll figure it out later._

"What have you done Jacob Black?" I muttered in a whisper. Oh well. He said I would figure it out later. Might as well make breakfast.

I spent thirty minutes making eggs, bacon, and chocolate pancakes. Then I heard Cora open her door and walk into the kitchen. I turned around to greet her but my words came up short as I realized what she was holding.

"Jacob." I said absent mindedly as I remembered the quilt. Jacob's mother had made this for him when he was a little boy. Or at least that's what I had heard from Sam.

"Jacob?" Cora asked confused.

I pulled my thoughts together. Jacob must have given this to Cora last night while she was asleep. I tried to think of an explanation at my sudden outburst.

"Oh." I said stalling. "Um, Jacob wanted me to give that to you as a gift. I thought you would like to have used it." I said awkwardly. I hated to lie but at least half of it was true.

"Oh. Well then I guess I can put this on my bed now. It was really sweet of him to give this to me. It's lovely." Cora said as she walked back into her room.

She walked back into the kitchen and her stomach growled.

"Hungry?" I asked.

"Very." She replied.

* * *

JPOV

I woke up the next morning anxious. I was going to have breakfast with Emily, Sam, and Cora. I stood by my dresser trying to figure out what to wear.

Just something casual Jake, your just going over there like this is any other day. I thought to my self. I decided to just pull on some baggy khaki shorts and a black t-shirt. I walked out of my room to see Billy eyeing me suspiciously. He was also in on my imprinting on Cora. For the last day he had been unwearyingly joyful and smug. Sort of like when your parents start to see signs that their kids are growing up. This annoyed me; he acted as if I had gotten my first girl friend or something while Cora and me were merely acquaintances. I didn't think that the others should get their hopes up. Imprinting had completely altered my life; in a good way, but not hers.

"So where are you off to Jake?" asked Billy with an all-knowing smile on his face.

"I don't know dad why don't you tell me?" I couldn't keep from smiling as I joked around.

"See ya later son. Oh yeah, have fun with Cora." He said the last part with a grin.

"Will do." I said a bit agitated. What was I three?

As soon as I was out of sight I started running towards Sam's. My heartbeat increased not because of running but because with each step I would get to see _her._

I could smell the sweet aroma that was Emily's cooking when I got closer to the house. I jumped onto the porch and knocked on the door. "Well hi there Jacob." Sam said with a goofy grin.

"Hello Sam." I glared at him.

"It's about time. Cora and Sam has already started without you." Emily said with delight in her eyes.

Sam walked back over to the table and began stuffing his face. I then switched my glance to Cora. Her face was red as she quickly chewed and swallowed. Then she got a drink of milk.

"Sorry." She laughed.

"Don't worry about it. As you can see I'm used to it by now." I said changing my glance to Sam. It was surprisingly easy how well I could be myself now.

Sam swallowed and looked at me. "What are you looking at me for? You and Paul nearly killed each other for a blue berry muffin the other day."

Emily and Cora giggled and I took my shoes off by the door. I walked into the kitchen and Emily handed me a plate. I filled it up with the different assortments of food and took a seat beside Cora and Sam at the table.

She looked at me and my insides felt like they had melted. She was still in her pajamas with her dark curly hair hanging frantically to the left side of her face. She quickly converted her gaze to my plate and a beautiful smile lit up her face.

"Eat much?" she said looking at me again still smiling.

I flashed her a smile in return. "Only a lot." I said shrugging.

"How's Billy?" Emily asked.

"He says he's been having pains in his joints. I've been trying to convince him to see a specialist but he is to stubborn."

"So that's where you get it from Jake." Sam said with a full mouth.

I glared at him and Cora giggled. I couldn't help but grin so I started to dig in.

"Mmm. I'm full. That was delicious." Cora said rubbing her stomach. I chuckled.

"Thank you." Emily said as she ate.

"So…" Sam said indifferently. "What do you have planned for today Cora?"

"Nothing really."

Sam kicked my foot.

"I could help you with that." I said smoothly.

"Oh." She inquired with an eyebrow raised.

"How would you like a tour of first beach?"

"Hmm." She was pausing for my benefit I assumed. "Sounds interesting."

Sam and Emily exchanged glances.

I pushed my plate back and looked at her again. "Ready?"

Cora looked down at herself and back up to me. "I might need a minute…or more."

"Take your time."

She looked toward Emily with a weary expression. I could tell she was uncomfortable with the idea of going with me. I frowned at this. I wanted her to trust me. This sounded strange considering the fact that I only knew her for a day or two. Emily smiled and nodded. Cora got up and hurried toward her room. I exhaled sharply once I was alone with Emily and Sam.

"It's a lot of pressure Jacob but things will fall into place." Sam assured me quietly.

"What if she doesn't want to be with me? I don't think I could handle that."

"I know how you feel but she will come around. Remember, the two of you were made for each other. Otherwise you wouldn't have imprinted on her."

"Sam she has the choice." I said glumly.

Emily sat down across from me with a calm expression. "I did to and you see how that worked out. I couldn't have just left him. It was utterly impossible for me." Emily said stroking Sam's hair.

"I'm worried about her. She seems so hurt all the time even when she does try to hide it. I can sense it. I don't know the first thing about trying to piece someone back together. Usually it's been the other way around." I said trying to figure out what I was going to do.

"I've told you this before. In the end you'll do the right thing. You're a good guy Jacob and this will come naturally though it may not seem that way." Sam said with a serious look on his face. I nodded to let him know I understood.

Cora opened her door with an armful of clothes and a small bag. "You wouldn't mind if I took a quick shower? I won't take long." She asked.

"No it's fine." I reassured her with a smile. She turned and headed toward the bathroom.

I put my face in my hands and sighed. I could hear Sam chuckle and Emily slapped him.

* * *

(It's still Jake's POV)

"Ok I'm finally ready to see the wonders of first beach." Cora exclaimed.

"Are you sure? The wonders of first beach can have a strong effect on newbies." I teased.

She giggled. "I think I can handle it."

I was helping Emily restock the cabinets with the clean dishes. I turned around and I had to remind myself to blink. Once again she was breath taking. Her hair was curly and dark against her slightly dark skin. It reached down past her shoulders and I could see that it was still damp from the shower. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt and shorts. It would be pretty warm today. Emily cleared her throat.

"Um, ok then." I said like an utter moron.

She followed me towards the door as I slipped my shoes on. I held the door open for her as she walked past me and headed for the steps.

"Uh, you might need to lead, I have no idea where we're going." She pointed out.

"Right." I said stupidly.

I walked down the steps and turned in enough time to see her catch her shoe on an uneven step and then started to fall off the porch with her shoe and her foot still clung tightly to the step. My 'wolfy' instincts kicked in and I caught her before she could hit the ground. She clutched to my shirt collar for dear life as the panic went from her eyes and suddenly she realized where she was. I stood her upright. Even though I wanted to keep her in my arms till I knew for sure she was all right.

"Are you ok?" I said with concern.

She wiggled her body to make sure nothing was in pain. Her face was blood red with embarrassment.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm sorry I can be a bit clumsy. You may be risking your life by giving me the magnificent tour of first beach."

"It's worth it to be able to witness someone's first time encounter with such an infamous place as this." I said teasing again. "Besides I'm used to it. I used to have a friend who was also really clumsy. She was even worse than you." I thought about Bella and smiled. It was nice to recall our friendship without writhing in pain.

Cora smiled still glowing red. "If you say so. But thanks. I think I owe you my right foot, I nearly lost it on that step."

"Ah, I don't really don't have any use for an extra foot right now. How about we just be friends instead. At least until I can find a good use for your right foot." I said grinning. She must have thought I was a dork.

"I could live with that." She said with a laugh.

"Friends?" I asked as I stuck my hand out.

She took my hand and shook it firmly, business-like. "Friends." She said with a smile.

**Don't forget to review!! Please tell me what you think. **


	9. Twenty Questions

**Author's Note: I'm so excited I'm finally getting everything pulled in together now. Thanks for all of your all's reviews they help me a lot. So here's a tribute to Terra 106, Ninja of Darkness, motto-writeandeatacos, Rubyrose1, and PadfootCc. I would also like to dedicate this chapter to Eriisu who gave me the great idea in which you will be reading about in a few seconds. Well I guess that's it so I'll shut up now! **

Disclaimer: All Twilight material belongs to Stephanie Meyer.

9. Twenty Questions

JPOV

I had shown Cora the beach and some of the forests that surrounded it. We made constant small talk as I showed her each location telling a little history about it. She seemed interested as she questioned me about the beach. It was getting late in the evening so we decided to grab a bite to eat at a small diner. We continued talking really about nothing in particular. Once we were finished we headed back onto the beach toward Sam's.

We still had a long ways to walk and I thought it would be the perfect time to get to know Cora better as we casually took in the view. All day I wanted to interrogate her about her life. But I didn't really know how to bring it up.

We both had taken our shoes off so we could enjoy the bit of sand by the waves. Cora was looking off into the ocean, her expression looked as if she were deep in thought. As I stared at her I found the courage to speak.

"Do you want to play a game?" I asked casually.

She turned her face toward me and smiled. "What game would you like to play?" She asked with an amused tone.

"Twenty questions?" I replied.

"Sure. But," She said inquisitively. "we both have to answer whenever one of us asks a question."

"Sounds fair." I said grinning. "Would you like to start first or me?"

"Shoot." She said allowing me to go first. What was I going to ask her? Better start small I thought to myself.

"What's your favorite color?" I asked and she raised an eyebrow.

"Red." She said simply but with a faint blush. I wondered why she reacted like that.

"Red's cool." I assured her. I was a little confused about her embarrassment. "Did I miss something?"

"Oh no it's just, it is the color of the quilt you gave me. It makes me feel warm. It sounds crazy but I love that quilt. Thank you by the way."

"Your welcome." I returned the gesture. My heart swollen at the fact that she loved it. Especially since it was so special to me.

She smiled to herself. "And you?"

"Green." I blurted out automatically as I thought of her eyes. She laughed a bit.

"I figured that by living here you would be sick of green."

"Nay. It still holds an interest for me." I answered, relieved that she didn't notice why I liked the color green.

"My turn." She said thoughtfully. "What's your favorite food?"

"Everything." I said in a nutshell.

She started laughing and so did I. "I guess I should have figured that. But how can you eat so much and still be…not fat…you seem really fit." I could feel my face turning red.

"That's more than one question." I answered coolly. I couldn't tell her the real reason why I ate like twenty pigs combined and not be massively obese.

"Ok." She said with a laugh. "Macaroni and tomato juice."

"You have a fancy taste for things." I said sarcastically. "Favorite song?"

"To many to choose." She said.

"Me to."

"Favorite flower?" Cora asked amused. "Or are you to big of a guy to like flowers?" She teased.

I nodded my head. "Flowers are cool. I would have to say daisies. My mom and sisters used to pick them all the time and put them all over the house. I made them necklaces that my dad taught me to lace together."

"That's sweet." She said quietly.

"What about you?"

"Calla lilies. My sister would always fantasize about having a wedding with calla lilies everywhere. It was silly. I grew to love them though. They're beautiful."

"It's not silly. When you love someone they tend to rub off on you."

"Yeah." Cora bent her head down and I quickly changed the subject.

"How many pets have you had?" I asked a lighter question.

"I had one dog, he was a yellow lab. His name was Copper. I loved him more than anything at the time which if I remember correctly I was seven. But then my mother ran over him and I swore to myself that I would never get attached to another pet again. Especially a dog."

I laughed loudly over the pure irony of the situation. Cora cocked her head to the side as if I had gone crazy. "It's not funny. I loved Copper."

I managed to stop the hysteria so I could breath. If only she knew. I thought to myself. "I'm not laughing at you." I managed to say.

She eyed me curiously then smiled. I shook my head and answered the question she was about to remind me of. "I've never had an actual childhood buddy like Copper. But I do recall a time when I found a turtle and decided to make it my pet. When I reached down to grab it I found out that it was a snapping turtle. Thus ending my enthusiasm for any type of pets."

She chuckled lightly. "I can see why."

We walked on for a while as she thought of another question. "When is your birthday?"

"June 20th." I replied.

"Really that' just a couple of weeks away." She stated. I could see her smirk as a plan began to form.

"Hey don't go getting any ideas." I told her.

"I don't have to. I bet Emily has something planned though." She said looking at me with triumph.

"Thanks." I mumbled with a fake smile. Parties were fun to go to but not to have one.

"Your welcome." She said sarcastically. She could since my sullen mood towards my birthday. I looked toward her and she had an evil smile on her face.

We talked on and on as we told each other more about our likes and dislikes. She didn't tell me anything to personal but it was nice to know more about her. After we were done asking small questions about our likes and dislikes she asked about my family.

"I met one of your sisters, Rachel I think, and also Billy. Do you have any more brothers and sisters?" she asked.

"Yeah, her name is Rebecca, she lives in Hawaii now with her husband." I told her.

"Hawaii? Well that's pretty far away. I bet you miss her." She said sympathetically.

"I do but I'm not all that close to her. Rachel's been the one who's always put up with me. Rebecca was a drama queen."

"Oh. I didn't get to meet your mother either. What it she like?" She asked with interest.

"Um. My mother…she died." I choked the words out as I looked away from Cora.

"I'm so sorry Jacob I didn't know I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm being to nosey." She said with regret. I looked at her face, which was guilt-stricken. I stopped walking and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry 'bout it. It happened a long time ago. You don't have to apologize to me." I said as she half-smiled.

"It must be hard." She said with a frown.

"Yeah. But you've been through it to. Except it wasn't your mother." I said wondering if I had talked to much. She nodded pain written all over her face.

"I shouldn't have brought it up either." I said. Then she froze and a tear ran down her face.

"I'm sorry…" Cora murmured as she wiped the tear away only for another one to slide down her cheek.

"Hey, you can talk to me about anything remember?" We're friends now." I reassured her.

"Jacob you wouldn't understand. I really want to be your friend but I'm not good enough for you. I don't trust you." She said sobbing.

I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me at her words. I wanted her to be able to rely on me, to be what she needed. I could feel she needed a friend more than anything right now. Why was she turning away?

"Look Cora." I pulled her face up so she could see my sincerity. "You don't have to trust me now. I know we've only met two days ago and yes I seem a little strange. But I want to be there for you." She looked at me with confusion. I smiled as I wiped a tear from her cheek. "I won't hurt you. In fact if I do something stupid I will give you the complete right to knock me in the head with a sledge hammer." She smiled a bit. "Just let me help you." I pleaded.

She stopped crying and her face turned red. "It's funny." She said with a smirk.

"What?" I asked, thrown off by her statement.

"Emily wanted me to be friends with you because she thought _you _needed help. But to me it looks like I need it." She said as she continued to smile up at me.

I chuckled. "You are a mess aren't you?"

She laughed. "Yup."

"Besides, you have already helped me. I needed someone to talk to that is at least half normal." I teased.

"I like your friends thank you very much." She pretended to be offended.

"Now you do. Don't worry though, you'll change your mind." I informed her as I handed her something to clean her face with from the tears.

"I hate that I did that in front of you. I wish I couldn't cry." She said as she wiped her cheeks.

"What are friends for?" I stated.

"I wouldn't know. Everyone at Makah is a jerk."

"Well I guess you'll find out. From my own experiences, friends are a real pain in the butt." I said with humor.

"From what I can see, I like pains in the butt." She laughed.

"So…do I get be your pain in the butt?" I asked grinning.

"Only if I get to be the pain in yours." She said still laughing.

"I can deal with that." I said nodding my head. She stopped laughing as we drew near Sam's.

"Thanks." She said.

"Anytime."

I stopped just in front of the steps and caught her arm. She turned around and my heart skipped a beat. I had been with her the whole day and she still could make me turn speechless. Her dark green eyes were still wet from crying and they sparkled in the dying light of the sun. Her hair and curls were swaying back and forth across her face in the wind. I cleared my head before I lost my train of thought.

"You do know that you can talk to me about anything don't you? I may not be smart or anything but I'm good at listening." I told her.

"I know it's just…there's things that I'm not proud of." She said with a sigh.

"I understand."

"I'm not so sure." She said shaking her head.

We stood there in silence for a while. It was getting dark and cold. I looked toward her and she did the same. I smiled to break the seriousness that filled the atmosphere.

"I'd better go." I said dreading to leave her.

"Aren't you going to come in and see Sam and Emily?" She asked.

"I have to check on Billy. It's hard for him to get around." I said lightly.

"I feel sorry for him." Cora said with a frown.

"Me to." I really did feel sorry for my dad. Being stuck in a wheel chair made it hard for him. But it never made him vulnerable.

"Goodnight Cora." I said almost sadly. I didn't want this day to end.

"Night Jacob." She turned to walk up the steps and I grinned.

"Be careful! Those steps can be so dangerous." I said mocking her. Cora paused remembering the earlier incident she had with the step she was getting ready to step on. She blushed once again.

"Funny." She said sarcastically. "You know you were right about one thing Jacob."

I chuckled at her angry and embarrassed expression. "What's that?"

She walked up to the front door, opened it, and just as she was about to walk in she turned to face me.

"You really are a pain in the butt."

**I can't wait to hear what you guys think about this chapter. If you want give me me some ideas of what you think should happen next. I could really use your all's help. Everyone has such cool ideas. Thanks a bunch!!**


	10. Second Chances

**Author's Note: I've decided to fast forward the story a bit because it would be very boring if I included every single detail. So anyways, I'm excited about the next chapter!! It will be mostly Jacob and Cora fluff, which by the way I love fluff. You will soon figure that out later. ;) But then I promise to include some sort of drama. You'll see. But in this chapter I wanted to include Kim because Cora later own grows close to her and Emily. So here it goes…**

Disclaimer: (Man these things are annoying.) I do not own anything from the Twilight series.

10. Second Chances

CPOV

I had been in La Push for only two weeks now and it has seemed as if my entire life took on a whole new turn. Emily and Sam as well as the rest of the gang had taken me in as their family. I knew I would never be able to forget my past. It had damaged every fiber in what was left of my heart. But the longer I stayed here the more I seemed to heal. It was as if I had literally died but was brought back to life and given a second chance.

Jacob and me became pretty much, best friends. He never pressured me into anything I wasn't comfortable with though I could tell he wondered often about what I was hiding. Each day we would find something to do and one evening he even took me to his house. Jacob, Billy, and me ended up playing various different card games including black jack. (Since we were broke we only gambled with monopoly money.) I really liked Billy he was nothing but kind-hearted. I could see it in his eyes. He really loves Jacob. I enjoyed watching them as a family even though they were a small family.

Being friends with Jacob seemed so natural. Before I knew it I was even talking about my sister to him. I have never said anything about her to anyone since the accident. But I remembered Lori's personality and sharing some of my favorite memories of her with Jacob. The craziest part about the whole thing was that it didn't hurt to talk about her. I couldn't really quite figure that part out. I remembered seeing the unanswered questions in his eyes that day while eating ice cream.

* * *

(Flash back)

"Your sister sounded like a really great person." Jacob said with gratitude for opening up to him for the last half hour while I talked about Lori.

"She really was." I looked off and was ready for some kind of pain to come. But as Jacob sat beside me it never came. I smiled to myself knowing it wouldn't come back as long as I had Jacob. He turned his head to look at me and he bit his lip.

"What it is?" I asked.

"Nothing. I shouldn't ask you to talk about it."

I smiled at him a bit as I realized what he was talking about. "You want to know what happened?"

"It's ok. I won't do that to you. It's to painful." He said shaking his head.

"Actually I think it's time I did. Will you listen for me?" I asked. I really needed him to help me talk about this even if he only listened and never said a word.

"Of course I will." Jacob said gently but I could see the sincerity in his dark eyes. I looked into them for a while mesmerized. I remembered feeling this way whenever I first really saw him and noticed how beautiful he was. It seems as if I have felt something like this before, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I looked away collecting my memories.

"To someone else the accident wasn't one that you would easily remember. There was no drunk driver, Lori wasn't doing anything she wasn't supposed to, and there wasn't a four-car pile up. Her car didn't even flip over. She merely hit a slick patch in the pavement that made her stir of the road a bit. As you can see, there was nothing that would exactly go down in the book of 'Worst Tragic Incidents'. She had everything under control, so say the witnesses, but for some unexplained reasons her tire blowed whenever she went off the road for that split second. Lori then lost control of the car and its left side rammed into a cliff.

Lori had her seat belt on and everything. She was going ten miles under the speed limit. But one of the rocks that were sticking from the cliffs happened to be the precise spot in which she crashed into. It busted through her window killing Lori instantly. It was as if everything had lined up perfectly. The officers do not even have a clue of how she hit that rock like that. Who knew that a rock could change my life forever?"

Jacob watched me as the tears welled up in my eyes about to spill over. I didn't notice at first but when I looked down Jacob had his hand wrapped around mine. I blinked and stupid tears went down my face. I looked away embarrassed even if Jacob was considered, at the moment, my best friend. He pulled my face toward him and he wiped my tears away with his fingers like a mother would do to a child. Even though he was only comforting me I didn't want him to stop but he did.

"Thank you." He whispered. "That meant a lot to me that you would tell me that."

"I should be thanking you Jacob. You're the first person that I've been able to talk to about pretty much anything. It doesn't hurt anymore." I told him as honestly as I could. Jacob deserved to know more about my past. But what I had just told him was enough for now anyways. I dreaded the day I would have to tell him the rest.

He patted me on the back knowing that hugging me would probably make me uncomfortable. "Was it hard to tell me that?" He asked.

"No." I said shocked. "I'm actually relieved that I'm finally able to talk to someone. Thank you for listening."

"Anytime." He said punching me playfully in the arm.

He was about to take a lick of his ice cream cone but then I shoved his arm upwards causing it to smash into his nose. He pulled his hand down and ice cream was splattered all across his face. He pretended to give me a glare but I started cracking up. He immediately gave up on pretending to be angry and his laughter boomed over top mine.

* * *

"Earth to Cora." Kim said melodically as she watched me stare at precisely nothing in the mall. I then realized I was standing right in the middle of the store we had gone in about fifteen minutes ago.

"Oh, sorry." I blushed.

"It's ok. What were you thinking about? I for one do not think that you have been staring at those socks for ten minutes because you think they're cute." She whispered at me.

"I was just thinking of how much I'm enjoying myself. Not just by the whole shopping thing, which I am enjoying, but just by living here. It makes me feel...happy." I told her in shock at my own self for telling her how I actually felt. Emily was standing next to Kim with some clothes in her arms. She was smiling almost in shock with one skeptical eyebrow raised.

"Oh." They both said at the same time.

Kim embraced me into a big hug. "I've only know you for a couple of weeks, but it feels as if we've been friends for years. I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself." She said excitingly.

"Me to." Emily agreed patting my hair. "I'd better go and pay for this. Kim, sorry but I have to go home early to work on the 'plans' for tomorrow. Why don't you and Cora go find something 'special' to wear. I believe I've already found something." Emily said holding up a purple blouse and a black skirt. Why were we finding something "special" to wear and what was these "plans" Emily was referring to? Kim grabbed my arm and we headed off to another store. This one had mostly dresses.

"Um Kim. What's going on?" I asked confused.

"Emily didn't tell you? We're throwing Jacob a birthday party!" She said excitingly.

Yes! Whether I had anything to do with it or not Jacob was going to have a birthday party. "So is it a surprise?" I asked hoping that it was.

Kim rolled her eyes as we browsed through the store. Like everyone else, Kim was very easy to get along with. She was different though than anyone else that I have come to be friends with at La Push. Kim had a vibrant nature. There was never a dull moment around Kim.

"Unfortunately, the guys have a hard time keeping secrets from one another. It's embarrassing sometimes." She said with amusement. But also as if she were a little annoyed. "I swear they're like gossiping old women."

We laughed and then Kim suddenly pulled out a white cotton, one piece dress, with little green flowers stitched into the trim at the bottom and all across the top. It also had a light green band going around it just above the stomach. It had no sleeves but straps and it also came with a green sweater that had only one button to hold it together at the top.

"It's perfect!" Kim exclaimed.

"It will look great on you Kim." I said happily.

"Not for me, silly. I was talking about you." She laughed.

"Uh, I can't wear that." I said uncomfortably while holding the dress out.

"Why not?" Kim asked with a frown.

"It's to pretty. I'm not used to stuff like that." I was a jeans and t-shirt type of girl nothing to fancy.

"Your being ridiculous. It will look great on you."

I frowned and whined a bit.

"Just try it on to see if you like it." Kim said reassuring me.

I got the dress and headed toward the dressing room. I changed into the dress awkwardly not even bothering to look in the mirror fearing that I would lose half of my self-esteem if I did. I walked out of the dressing room and Kim squealed with delight.

"it looks great Cora!"

"Are you sure? It feels a little tight." I said pulling at the beautiful dress that I was probably making look hideous.

"No its perfect. Jacob will love it!" she said enthusiastically.

"Why would Jacob like it? I thought _I _was getting the dress." I said confused again.

"You really are silly Cora. You wont even have to get Jacob a gift. All you have to do is show up in that dress and he will gladly take you as a present." She said in an obvious tone.

"I don't understand."

"Honey, Jacob likes you. You merely walk into a room and his whole face over flows with happiness." She said smiling like I had missed something obvious.

"And you're saying _I'm _being silly? Kim, Jake and me are just friends. We don't think of each other like that." Of course not! Jacob would never see me as more than a friend. He deserves someone better than me and I don't think I want that anyway. Especially considering what happened last time.

"Maybe not now. But you can't stand there and tell me you don't care about him. I see it written all across your face whenever someone mentions Jacob. It's as if you just start to glow. You love him." She said simply.

"What?! I do not love Jacob!" I shrieked. Everyone in the store looked at me as if I had gone mad.

"Jeez. Relax. I didn't say you were _in_ love with him. I said you love him, as a friend of course. Though I think you might change your mind." Kim stated smiling.

"Jacob is just my friend and no. I've been down that road before and I'm not going back." I told her without a doubt in my mind. There was no way I was going to fall in love again.

"Have it your way." She said as if she had lost interest in the conversation. But while she said it she smiled even more. I rolled my eyes. Jacob and I are just friends. And yes, I did over the last two weeks grow to love him. Only as a friend though.

While Kim looked for an outfit for Jake's party I began to think about him. I know now that I had a ton of friends. There was, especially, Emily. Emily was like my big sister and also my life saver. There was also Kim, Sam, Jared, Paul, Rachel, Quil, Embry, Seth, Collin, Brady and possibly even Leah. But for some reason Jacob was different, more special to me. It was as if he knew and understood every part of me. He didn't make me feel afraid to be myself. He made me feel safe and secure instead. This wasn't the only reason why I loved Jake. (As a friend). But also I just loved him as a person. There wasn't anyone like Jake.

Kim came back and stood in front of me waving her hand up and down in front of my face. I giggled because Kim had to reach pretty high up to even reach my nose.

"What do you keep thinking about?" She asked with a sly expression.

"Nothing." I replied giving her no info.

"Sure." she answered sarcastically.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yeah. We need to give Emily a hand for tomorrow. All the boys will be expecting food."

"Which roughly translated means that we need to make enough food for an army." I joked.

"Pretty much." She laughed.

We paid for our dresses and I quickly ran into a store to get the supplies in which I would make Jake's birthday present. I didn't just want to buy him something that would just so happen to work as a decent present. I wanted to make him something special. It was the least I could do.

**Tell me what you think and what you would like to happen in the next chapter. You never know, I might just use your ideas. But enough pestering you all about reviewing and I would just like to say Happy Halloween!! Woo Candy!! Lol. **


	11. Suprises

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry about the late update. I hope I can make up for it though. Thabks to evryone who offered their advice it helped!**

11. Surprises

JPOV

"Here." Sam said as he threw a box on my bed. I sat up startled by the sudden intrusion. It took me a minute to clear my head as I picked up the box that was wrapped, not very well, in blue paper. It had a string tied around it with my name on top.

"What's this?" I asked perplexed.

"You're being rude. Whenever someone gives you a birthday present you're supposed to say 'thank you'." Then all of a sudden the guys came in front of my bedroom door and started singing "Happy Birthday" very loudly and extremely off key. I put my hands over my ears gave them all a look that questioned their sanity. Paul came in, jumped on the bed, and put me into a headlock.

"Ow! Guys, what gives?" I was beginning to get annoyed. They all looked at me with goofy grins on their faces.

"Don't tell me you forgot about your birthday Jake." Jared said skeptical.

"Yeah, I don't think spending time with Cora has made you that deranged." Brady implied.

I looked at the present in my hands then over to the small present on my dresser. Which, by the way, did not belong to me. "No, I didn't forget."

Paul stood up and picked the small package up and held it in his hand. "I thought you were supposed to get presents not give them." Paul said with an eyebrow raised.

I rolled my eyes. "So." I mumbled. They all started laughing except the younger ones who looked at each other disgusted.

"Man, you've got it bad." Quil chuckled.

"Well I did _imprint_ on her. Sometimes I think you all forget that." I said bitterly.

"Aren't you going to open your present?" Embry asked with a mischievous tone.

"Fine." I broke the string and began tearing the paper off of the wide box. I tore it open and then picked up what was inside. It was a white button up shirt that was a bit on the expensive side. Underneath that was a pair of jeans that also looked pretty pricey. "Don't get me wrong I like it. But what can I use this for?" I held up the shirt and jeans.

"You wanna look great for your birthday part tonight don't ya?" Asked Paul.

"Birthday party?" I asked looking at Sam.

Sam smiled. "Emily."

"Emily?" I muttered.

"Well, she did have a little help." He said on Emily's behalf.

"Cora." I said smiling. She remembered our conversation that we had on the beach the first time I got to know her.

"Yup." Sam said chuckling. "You know…she really does care about you a lot Jake."

"You think so?" I questioned.

Paul snorted. "You big idiot, you know she does."

"Yeah Jacob. You two are killing me. I'm going to take matters into my own hands and tell her the truth about everything if you don't hurry up and do it." Embry ranted.

Sam motioned everyone to the door. "Be at my place at six and wear that." He pointed toward my present. "And Jacob, try not be late this time."

"I don't think you have to worry about that." I thought of Cora and wondered what she was doing. I heard all the guys chuckle as they left.

_

JPOV

"Wow Jake you clean up almost as nice as your old man." My father teased.

"Thanks dad." I felt a little uncomfortable I wasn't used to be dressed up. My outfit the guys gave me wasn't too formal. It was just a plain white button up long sleeved shirt. I wore a white sleeve less under shirt in under it. But I was also worried about something else.

"You really do look handsome son, I was only joking." Billy said seriously.

"I know dad…I'm just…nervous." I told him bluntly. It was no use to try and hide something from Billy he would just find out later.

"That's love son. But being nervous pays off in the long run. It's what makes love exciting and unpredictable."

"Dad, I think you would give Dr. Phil a run for his money. Maybe even Socrates." I joked.

"I may not know much but I've had experience." He laughed. "We'd better get going. I can't to see my new favorite girl."

"You'd better not tell Emily, Kim, or Rachel that." I warned.

"They're still my favorites to…just not my newest one. Don't exclude Leah either."

"Leah could care less. She already knows that she's not anybody's favorite." I said hatefully as I helped Billy off the porch. Then I started to push him toward Sam's.

"That's alright Jake I can push myself." Billy said.

"Are you sure?"

"You're just like your mother, always babying me around." He chuckled but then grew serious. "I care about Leah just as much as I do Emily and Kim. Leah's had it a bit different. By that I mean more rough. She can't help what it has made her. She is the one who has to live with it."

"I know." I cared about Leah to and I pitied her. But she would never let you past the bad part of her.

I kept my pace with my dad. I could tell he struggled trying to move a little faster for me. We finally made it Sam's where Quil and Embry were waiting on the porch.

"Hey boys!" My dad greeted cheerfully. He was fond of my two best friends.

"Hey Billy!" They both called. Embry and me helped Billy unto the porch while Quil opened the door. I pushed him inside and craned my neck to find Cora.

"Happy birthday!" everyone shouted. I smiled while everyone came and congratulated me, everyone except Cora. Once they were finished I walked over to Emily.

"Where's Cora?" I asked.

"She'll be out in a minute. I think Kim is torturing her with hairspray at the moment." She said as if it was common for this type of behavior from Kim.

"Should I save her?"

"No, Kim assured me it would only take two minutes at the most. Oh, there she is."

I turned around and there she was, the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen in my life. She wore a dress that made her dark green eyes glow a couple of shades lighter. Her brown hair gracefully cascaded down her back and across her shoulders in curls. Part of it was pinned in a dragon fly barrette. She was smiling a dazzling smile and my insides felt like jello. Without even realizing it I walked toward her and stopped a couple of feet away. But I was still close enough to feel the heat her body was giving off.

"Happy birthday." Cora said musically.

I was still a little stunned and I forgot how to breathe. Then someone coughed. (It sort of sounded like Jared.) I blinked and gave her a smile in return. "Why thank you." I said politely. I thought I was being smooth before I blurted out "You look pretty…I mean…pretty good."

She giggled. "You look pretty good yourself."

I then became conscious of everyone staring at us because it got dead silent. All eyes were on us. Emily felt my sudden tension and announced that the food was done. Everyone flew to the kitchen while me and Cora moved out of the way and sat on the couch. Billy rolled up to us and stretched his arms out to Cora.

"You sure do look beautiful." He told her sweetly. He meant it too.

"Thanks but maybe it's time to get your eyes checked." She teased. But she also meant the meaning behind her joke.

"Nonsense. My eye sight is perfect and you are nothing less of beautiful." Billy told her while she came and sat back down next to me. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Sure sure." She said rolling her eyes and laughing at the same time.

Billy looked at us both and grinned. He then sighed and started toward the kitchen. "If I don't leave now I'll never get fed." He cackled. Cora giggled as he rolled away.

"He was right you know."

"About what?"

"You don't give yourself enough credit." I told her matter-of-factly.

She blushed then looked down at her dress and sighed. "That's what you think."

"That's exactly what I think." I said lightly.

She stared at me for a minute then smiled. "Your ridiculous." She mumbled.

"Not as ridiculous as you." I wasn't about to let her win this argument because I knew that I was right. So I reached into my pant's pocket and pulled out the small box. "I gotcha something." I said playfully.

One of her eyebrows shot up. "You are not supposed to give _me_ a present it's your birthday."

"So. It's my birthday and I'll do what I want to." I said proudly.

"Like you don't already." She teased.

"Exactly."

She took the box from my hands and untied the ribbon that held the lid and the box together. She opened it and gently took out what was inside.

"It's beautiful!" She gasped as she held the small, wooden, locket in her palm. The wood was a dark reddish color that was sanded and smoothed. I had carved a heart shape out of the wood and engraved upon it a wolf. I put it on a silver chain because I knew she preferred it to gold.

"It's a locket." I informed her as I took the locket, opened it, and then placed it back into her hand. Her finger outlined the empty space inside.

"Where's my picture?" She asked.

"What picture?"

"Of you dummy." She laughed as she looked into my eyes for her missing answer.

"Why would you want a picture of me?" I was stupid enough not to see what she was getting at.

"Well you are my best friend and the one who made me this. Why wouldn't I put your picture in it?" She asked me with an odd look on her face.

"Are you sure you want a picture of me? I'm sure Seth would think that he was a lot better looking." I said pretending to be serious.

"You got that right!" Seth yelled with a mouth full of food.

Cora laughed. "I've already got a picture of him in my room."

"Really?" I wondered if she could sense the jealousy in my tone.

"Yup. Seth wanted me to think of him every night before I would fall asleep." She said dramatically.

"Well then, you'd better find someone else's picture. I wouldn't want to be the cause of yours and Seth's break up." I said sarcastically though I did hate Seth at the moment.

"Relax Jake, we were just kidding." Seth said annoyed at my bitter response.

Cora was grinning at me. Then she looked at Seth. "Well except for the whole picture thing." She turned back to me. "That part was true."

I glared at Seth. I knew he only done that to make me mad. He must have joined some sort of bet.

"Can you help?" Cora asked as she held her hair up and handed me the necklace.

"Ok." I gulped as I suddenly became nervous all over again. I scooted to her face. She was only a couple of inches away from me. I put the two ends behind her neck, my right arm accidentally brushing her cheek. The whole time she was looking into my eyes and for a split second her lips parted. I froze and the unbearable urge to lean in and softly brush her lips with mine came over me. I blinked and we both snapped out of it as I latched the two ends of the necklace and pulled my arms away from her.

"Perfect." I whispered. She looked down and touched the locket and smiled while running her finger over it. Little did she know that whenever I spoke I was staring at her face the entire time.

"Thank you." She said then gave me a hug. (Something that I was not expecting.) I took her in my arms and leaned the side of my face against her hair. I had wanted to do this since the moment I met her and now I never wanted to let go. But all to soon she pulled back and jumped up.

"Now it's time for your present!" She exclaimed and ran into her room.

She came back out carrying two gifts, one smaller than the other. She sat back down on the couch and handed the biggest one to me.

"Open it." She said excitingly.

I tore the paper slowly just to annoy her. Her smile turned into an evil glare and I laughed. "Would you like to open it?" I asked her sarcastically.

"Shut up and open the present before I smack you." She threatened.

I went back to opening the present but this time more quickly. I ripped the last piece of paper off and noticed that it sort of looked like a picture album. I looked at her for a brief second.

"It's a scrapbook." Cora explained. Then she scooted closer to me where the book would lay on both of our laps. She turned to the first page where it had a picture of my sisters, my dad, my mom, and me. I traced my finger over the lining of the picture. I hadn't seen that picture in years.

"How did you…" I started but Cora cut me off.

"I had a little help from Emily and your dad." She explained. I continued flipping through the pages and recalled memories from my childhood that I had been neglecting for a long time. At the end of the scrapbook Cora had placed a picture of herself and me in the upper corner.

"I wanted this page to be about us so that in a couple of years you won't forget about me." She spoke lightly but I could tell she felt sad.

I quickly looked from the scrapbook to her face. I pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear then looked into her eyes. "You don't have to worry about that, I'll never forget you for as long as I live."

"You say that now." She said doubtfully.

"I mean it. In fact you won't be able to get rid of me. Maybe moving here wasn't as good as it turned out to be. You will have to look at my face for as long as you live." I joked but yet I was still hoping that it was true.

"Ah, I can live with that." She told me. "It was worth it to be able to meet Seth even if that does mean that I have to look at you for the rest of my life." She grinned an evil smile toward Seth and he returned it with a wink. She looked back at my horror stricken face and giggled. "Don't worry, your still my best friend."

"Thanks." But there was not a drop of gratitude in my voice. I knew she was only joking but if she didn't stop Seth was going to get a pounding. Cora lifted the other, smaller, box in front of my sour face. In a flash I stole it out of her hand.

"Whoa, your fast." She said blinking as though she didn't just imagine that.

"Maybe you're just slow." I told her with a crooked smile. I could've sworn she just blushed but then she elbowed me in the arm and rolled her eyes.

I tore the paper and opened the box. Inside was a long strip of woven material that was green. Cora pulled it out. "It's a bracelet, see?" She grabbed my wrist and placed it on her lap. She tied the bracelet onto it with a knot and raised my arm so I could see. Stitched into the woven bracelet was the word "friend" in Quiluete. The words were a red russet color.

"Do you like it? You don't have to wear it if you don't want to, it wouldn't hurt my feelings." She assured me.

"It's perfect." I noticed that the bracelet was almost the same color green as Cora's eyes. "Of course I will wear it. Thank you…for everything."

"Your welcome." She squeezed my hand for a brief second and my nerves jolted. That was when I got an idea.

* * *

CPOV

"Do you want some birthday cake Jacob?" I asked.

"Sure." He said as he started to get up.

"That's ok I can get it."

"Are you sure?"

"I think I can manage." I went into the kitchen past the flood of people and stood in line for the cake. I was glad Jake liked his presents. They weren't very much but he looked pleased with them. As I thought about it I really liked doing special things for him. I knew that he was simply a good-hearted person and I trusted him, a little. But whenever I touched him or he would look directly at me…it was like he meant something more behind it. I automatically put my guard up. It wasn't like he was trying to do anything but I would start to feel something, something strong but I wasn't sure what that was yet. But for some reason though it put my whole system on lock down mode.

Whenever I first saw Jacob tonight something felt like it was eating at my heart. For the first time in a long time I felt nervous and anxious. I already knew that Jacob was beautiful, especially in that white button up shirt that showed how dark his skin was and wrapped lightly around his forearms. I closed those thoughts away quickly because I knew that I was still in love with Logan. It was like I was chained to him in a painful grasp.

It was my turn to get the cake now and for that I was thankful. I got about four pieces, one for me and three for Jake. I turned around and saw a bunch of the guys huddled around Jacob. I walked suspiciously toward them and all of their heads turned instantly in my direction. Jacob gave me an innocent smile and I eyed him as if he were in trouble. Some of the guys including Kim let out a snicker.

"What's going on guys?" I asked them.

"Nothing they all said at once and immediately went back to whatever they were doing before.

"Are you going to tell me?" I asked Jacob as I handed him his cake.

"Tell you what?" He asked as if he were really curious.

"You're up to something." I told him with an all-knowing tone.

"If you say so." Jacob took a bit of his cake and I could've sworn I heard him chuckle.

**So how was it? Leave me a comment if you will, it doesn't even have to pertain to the story. I love to hear from you all.**


	12. Cure

**Author's Note: Hello, my lovely viewers! So, did you all see the Twilight movie? I did and it was awesome! But moving right along, I'm so sorry for not updating sooner guys. I'm going to be on Christmas break soon so I'll make it up to you. This chapter is all fluff...again. But don't worry drama will soon intervene. Mwahahaha. that was my attempt to be funny. :) **

12. Cure

CPOV

Everyone was sitting around talking and goofing off with one another. After they had finished eating they ordered Jake to open his presents. Even though the presents weren't all that expensive, Jake treated each of them like gold. Quil and Embry appeared quietly back into the house. Then some of the other guys got up and went outside. Claire stumbled up to Jake with a paper in her hand and Quil watched her lovingly. For some reason, Quil was very attached to Claire.

"Ere Jakey!" Claire squealed and handed Jake the paper. She then turned around and reached for Quil who placed her in his lap after giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Claire had made a picture for Jacob with macaroni and glue. "Thanks Claire it's beautiful." Jake told her. "I'm going to hang it up in my room."

"Quil gue." Claire pointed out.

"Yes I did help you glue it." Quil said tickling her and she giggled uncontrollably. I smiled at them both. Claire reminded me of how Lori used to take care of me when I was little. Quil was Claire's Lori.

The ones who had left to go outside earlier were now back inside and one of them cleared their throat. Rather loudly may I add. Everybody broke up into groups again like they were earlier. Quil playing with Claire, Sam talking to Emily while holding her hand, Jared and Kim sitting in the floor in each other's arms, Paul and Rachel bickering, and the younger boys doing God only knows what. Billy sat silently by the window staring out into the fading sun. The shadows darkening his features, making him look full of ancient wisdom and grief.

Jacob caught me staring at Billy. "That's one of his favorite things to do." He spoke almost as if he were sad.

"What is?" I didn't quite get what it was Billy was doing. He looked like he was staring at something outside.

"Becoming lost in his thoughts. He likes to think about memories and our past. He once told me that it helps him to handle the things that are happening now." Jacob explained while looking at his father.

"Does he ever think about the future? I've heard that if you dwell in the past you can never move on to the rest of your life." I countered.

"I bet he does think of the future. But who ever told you all of that other stuff was wrong. It is impossible to have a future without having a past."

"What if I just want to forget it? What if I don't want to remember my past?"

Jacob grabbed my chin and squinted his eyes while he stared at me. The corners of his lips turned upward. "I don't think you want to forget it. You are just to afraid to remember."

"That's deep." I giggled but kept my face serious. He rolled his eyes.

"I was being serious." He complained.

I bent my head down and stared at my hands. I saw his hand gently grab mine. "Come on." He whispered. "Let's go for a walk." He pulled me up before I had time to object. I wouldn't have anyway; I wanted to go wherever he went. We walked out of the house and I didn't notice all the people staring. Once we were on the porch he swept me up in his arms bridal style with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Jake! What are you doing?!" I yelled.

"I don't want you to hurt yourself. We put a lot of effort into this for your clumsiness to screw it up." Jacob told me with a laugh.

"What are you talking about?"

He looked down at me and gave me a crooked smile. My heart stopped for a split second and I became light headed. "It's a surprise." He whispered in my ear. I didn't suppose that he was going to put me down anytime soon so I wrapped one of my arms around his shoulder. He was huge! My arm could barely reach to the other side. I looked down and was able to really see how tall he actually was. I clung a little tighter thinking that if he dropped me it would probably hurt…a lot.

He took a few steps to the edge of the porch just above the stairs. "Don't you trust me?" He teased.

I glared at him. "Matter of fact I don't believe I do." I snapped.

He chuckled lightly trying not to laugh. "That's to bad." Then all of a sudden Jacob sprang off the porch and landed on his feet a couple of feet into the driveway. I had buried my face in his neck and absent-mindedly screamed while in mid air. Jacob was standing laughing at my cowardice. "Now, see? You're not hurt at all. If you had only trusted me you might not have been so afraid." He joked. When I didn't move he became worried. "Cora? You can get down now if you want."

"Ok." I whispered. He let go of my legs but my arms were still locked around his neck. He looked at my face and smiled. He reached up behind his neck and undid the death grip I had on him. I wonder why I hadn't choked him? I was hanging on pretty tight.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Jacob asked.

"Yep, never been better." I said honestly.

He took my hand and started to lead me away from Sam and Emily's house and closer to the ocean. "Where are we going?" I wondered. He stopped at the edge of the yard where we were enclosed by trees. But we could still see the ocean peek out from between each of them. The house was a long distance away. The lights of the house's windows were tiny squares. It was also getting dark.

"Remember how you said that you have always wanted to learn how to dance?" Jacob asked excitingly.

I then recalled the day we were watching random things on T.V. one rainy afternoon. Jake was sitting beside me with his feet propped up eating popcorn. Then a couple appeared and they started to dance. I watched as they twirled elegantly and I became entranced."I've always wanted to know how to dance." I spoke mostly to myself. I didn't even think Jacob had heard me. He obviously paid more attention than I thought.

"Yeah, I remember." I told him breaking away from my memory.

"Well…I'm going to teach you." He stated.

"You know how to dance?" I asked astonished. What couldn't Jake do?

"I've had experience." He chuckled.

"What if I'm bad at it?" I said embarrassed at my being inexperienced.

Jacob, once again, gently took my hand in his and raised it up. "That doesn't matter to me." He said sincerely. My hand slightly trembled and I blushed because he had to notice that. He grabbed my waist and pulled it slowly toward him. His breath caught and I looked away. He must have thought I was insane for becoming embarrassed again. He remained unmoving so I turned my face back toward him to see what he was doing. He was studying my face with warm eyes.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Oh…nothing. Um ok…" He began to explain which way my feet were supposed to go and how we would be moving. It took him a total of eight minutes just to get the first part to register in my brain. "Ready?" he asked signaling me that he was getting ready to make the first move.

"I hope." I said a little nervous. Not because I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do but because at that moment he pulled me a little more closely than we were before. He moved his foot forward and as soon as we took a step lights filled up the landscape and turned it into a glow. It reflected into the ocean where it looked like we were facing tiny stars out in front of us. Someone had hung lights in the trees and all around our encircled spot. I gasped.

"You like it?" Jacob chuckled.

"Hmmm, I wonder who did all of this?" I asked sarcastically knowing that all the boy's had a hand in this.

"Does it matter?" He asked.

We were still dancing and I was doing very well to my amazement. I felt like that couple I saw and felt beautiful as we twirled and my dress flowing gently along each move we made. I couldn't remember being this happy. "No it doesn't." I whispered. I looked up to Jacob's usually black eyes to find them glowing with all the surrounding lights. There was a tiny hint of a yellow spark in them that made me melt. I tripped over Jacob's foot but he caught me and pulled me into his arms a little tighter. I sighed being content and rested my head against his warm chest. He slowed down the dance to a gentle swaying. I could hear his heart beating a little unsteady.

"Are you tired?" I asked him.

"No, are you?"

"No it's just that your heart is beating sort of fast." I implied.

"You know, it's been doing that a lot lately." He said lightly like it was some inside joke.

"You might need to get that checked out." I told him a little drowsy as we swayed back forth to music that only existed inside his head. We were quiet for a moment.

"Actually, I've already found the cure." He continued to rock us gently.

"Mmmhmm,what would that be?" I was on the verge of sleep then because of his warmth and lulling me. But I faintly heard him whisper.

"You."

**I hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think. I love to hear from people who takes the time to read my boring stories. What do you want to happen in the next chapter???**


	13. Realization

**Author's Note: This chapter was a bit on the long side. But I hope you will enjoy it anyways. Just a head's up, somebody from Cora's past comes back. I know you can barely contain yourselves now. Lol. Back to the story! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…crap. :(**

13. Realization

CPOV

I woke up feeling very confused. I was in my room but I couldn't remember how I got there. Then memories of soft glowing lights, the secure feeling of someone's warmth, and sparkling eyes filled my conscious thoughts. Jacob was swaying me back and forth as he hugged me close with his strong arms. I remember him whispering something to me but I can't really make out what it was. That was probably where I fell asleep. It wouldn't surprise me if Jake had carried me all the way back up to me room. He was incredibly strong anyways.

A faint smile grew across my lips as I looked at the alarm clock. It said it was 11:40 a.m. Last night I slept better than I had ever since I moved here. I hardly ever sleep this late. For some reason though, last night I dreamt of being very warm. Hmmm…it must've been the blanket Jake gave me. I hugged the fabric up to my cheek and breathed in deeply. I could still smell the faint scent of Jacob's husky fragrance. I put the blanket back down and lightly giggled at myself for smelling it in the first place. What had gotten into me?

I hopped out of bed feeling energized from my extra amount of sleep and walked into the kitchen. It was storming heavily outside as I could hear the loud swish of rain against the house's side. "Morning sleepy head. It's about time you got up." Emily said while washing the dishes.

"Aw man. Did I miss breakfast?" I asked her disappointed. I loved Emily's breakfast's I was starting to believe I was addicted to her cooking.

She chuckled at my three-year-old tone. "No, I'm just cleaning the one's from last night. I haven't made breakfast yet since Sam's gone doing some…uh…errands." She said awkwardly. "But seeing as how it's almost noon I think we should move onto lunch."

"Sorry." I told her. "I didn't think I was even capable of sleeping late anymore."

"By the looks of last night you were exhausted. How much exactly did you guys dance?" Emily asked indifferently but obviously intrigued.

"Not much actually though I did learn how to dance good enough to not fall. Well almost. I didn't even realize how tired I was. Poor Jake. I guess I had better apologize for that. He must've thought that he was boring me." I contemplated to myself.

"Don't worry about it. He understands. You know…he cares an awful lot about you." She hinted.

"I know. He is my best friend. I care a lot about him too."

Emily sighed. "You are missing my point entirely."

"What point are you making exactly?" I asked confused.

"Never mind sweetie." She drained the sink and wiped her small but sturdy hands on a dishcloth. "You'll find out soon enough." She said patting my head.

I looked around the house not memorizing it to be exceptionally clean from what I remembered last night. Where was all the crap left on the floors and counter tops from last night's party? "Emily?" I shouted from the living room.

"What is it?" She shouted back.

I walked back in the kitchen and gave her a stern look. "Did you clean up all that mess?"

"Don't worry about it. Rachel, Kim, and believe it or not, some of the guys helped. I finished up what was left this morning."

I felt a little guilty. The party was my idea anyways. "You should have slapped me or something. I'm sorry for not helping out."

"That was a good idea." She said with a witty tone. "I'll remember that next time."

"Ha, ha, ha. Funny." I mumbled.

"You worry to much. I'm not mad at you or anything." She laughed.

"I'll make it up to you. How about I make lunch?" I offered.

"Umm. Cora I have issues when it come to people touching my stove." She said nervously.

"Oh come on! Give me a chance. At least let me try, it's the least I can do." I said giving her a pouting look.

The good side of Emily's mouth turned down to match the other side that was permanently mauled into a frown. "Fine."

* * *

Still CPOV

I had spent an hour and a half making lunch. It was fun because the whole time Emily was in a constant state of panic because of the fear of her kitchen's well being. I knew I was clumsy but seriously? How much damage could I do? Once everything was completed I had shocked her. I was the one who usually cooked in my house so I had plenty of experience to make a decent meal.

"Wow. That was really good? Why didn't you tell me you could cook?" Emily asked.

"You were doing such a good job. I didn't want to interfere." I teased.

Emily elbowed me as she walked past me to throw something in the trash. The storm had gotten bigger since that evening, making everything look black. The rain continued to pour as it beat against the top of the house.

"I feel a little guilty. Shouldn't we have waited on Sam? I bet he's hungry." I admitted.

"Oh, Sam won't be back until late. I'm sure him and some of the boys will find something to eat."

I immediately wondered if Jacob was with him. I had been looking forward to seeing him today. Since he hasn't showed up yet I was beginning to worry. I don't really know why. I was sure Jacob had other things to do than to hang out with me all the time. But then again I still hoped.

"Who's with him?" I asked Emily causally hoping to find my question answered.

Emily smirked. "Quil and Embry I believe." My face drop instantly at he lack of hearing Jacob's name. Emily smiled wide. "Oh and Jacob is with him as well."

I let out a breathe in relief, thankful that I knew the true meaning behind Jacob's absence. I thought I heard Emily chuckle and I blushed. Both of our heads turned toward the door when we heard a loud bang coming from it. It repeated several times before I caught on that it was actually someone knocking on the door. Who ever it was didn't sound happy.

Emily's eyes were wide with worry and a trace of fear. I went over to the windows and I could faintly see the shape of a car that looked rather familiar. The rain was coming down even harder and it was also getting even darker. The head lights from the rather expensive car shown through the rain that was blazing by in constant streaks. I started to walk toward the door from which the loud banging erupted.

"Cora!" Emily scolded. "What do you think you are doing?" Emily raced over to grab my arm and drag me back toward the kitchen.

"There's something I have to take care of." I told her bravely though inwardly I felt like breaking apart.

"Cora, you don't even know who that is. They could hurt you." Emily pleaded.

"Actually I do know who that is." I told her twisting my head back to the door.

"Who?" She asked on the verge of freaking out.

I released her grip from my arm and made my way back to the door. I took in a deep breath as I placed my hand on the knob. I closed my eyes and my heart started to thump more loudly as I continued to stall, finally my nerves couldn't take it anymore and I roughly opened the door, silencing the angry banging. When I opened my eyes I saw the face and the light blonde hair that I once had been in love with. I didn't know what I had expected to feel before I had once looked upon him again as he stood in front of me with those once piercing blue eyes. I guess I had thought that I would still be mesmerized by his mere presence like I had before. But something was different. I looked into his eyes again, but instead of their former ability to dazzle me I noticed that they were dull and uncaring. His face was mingled with emotions that had changed the way it used to hold my staring trance. But yet I still searched for hope within my heart. I knew I still had to love him. There wasn't a day that went by that I hadn't thought of him.

"Logan." I whispered.

* * *

Everything happened rather quickly. After I had said his name he grabbed my wrist and jerked me out the door of Emily and Sam's house. The next thing I knew he pushed me down the steps and I feel on them. Again. But this time it wasn't out of my own clumsiness. Logan grunted and cursed grabbing me up by the arm and dragged me over to his vehicle that was at least thirty yards from the house. By the time we got there anger had swelled inside me and I ripped my arm from his grasp. My arm was sore from his strong hold on me. Not to mention I was soaked from the rain.

"What in the heck do you think you're doing?!" I yelled at him.

"Get in the car Cora!" He shouted angrily at me.

"No! Why in world would I do that?" I asked sharply.

"Because you are coming back with me." He spoke with a frightening tone.

"No I am not!" I replied matching his tone. I began to walk back toward the house when he grabbed me by the arm again.

"I believe you are." He said bitterly. He pulled me up to his chest where my face was only a couple of inches from his.

I could see aggression absorb his features. If I had any lick of sense I should've been scared completely out of my mind. But the only thing I felt toward Logan at the moment was anger. He had both of his arms gripping my shoulders tightly. "What is wrong with you?" I said looking him right in the eyes showing him that I wasn't afraid.

His expression hardened and so did his hands on my shoulders. I finally could see what it was. "She left you didn't she?" I asked with an amused tone. "That college bimbo left." I said as I laughed. His face was beginning to turn red. "Let me guess…did she get bored of you? Or wasn't you too 'grown up' enough for her?"

When he didn't answer I couldn't stop my raving at the irony. I began to laugh even more. "It's a shame. Now it looks like you're all alone. Don't worry maybe some other idiot might come along that thinks your over twenty one. I wonder how it will feel at the end when she finds out the truth and you turn into another disappointment."

He shoved me down onto the ground. "If you knew what was best for yourself, you would shut up!" He roared. I jumped up off the grown.

"I'm not afraid of you!" I yelled back at him.

Then all of a sudden his face was coated with a smirk as he slammed my body against his car. He leaned up against me and ran his fingers down my neck and across my chest. He whispered in my ear. "Now Cora…you know how much you want this." He rubbed his fingers up my arm then down my back reaching for the back of my pants. "You know I only love you." He said and his breath went across my face. I caught a heavy scent of alcohol from his mouth. Then he crashed his lips to mine.

Before, I lived for that sensation of his lips on mine. But now it sickened me. It was as if I'd had experienced something ten times better than this already. Now this was only a much weaker and more horrible trade off from what I had before. Logan continued to chew harshly on my lower lip trying to get a response out of me. I couldn't remember what it was that made me see this new realization. I pulled my hands up against Logan and rammed them hard into his chest.

"What's wrong Cora? I know this is all a shock to you. But I promise. I'll make up for all of our lost time together." He said darkly as he stumbled toward me.

"Stop it!" I screamed as he tried to grab me. I drew back away from him.

"Why?" He asked with an evil smile.

"You're drunk!" I spat at him with hate filling my tone.

The aggression reappeared once again across his face. "So?" He grabbed my arm, twisting it as he pulled myself against him again. "What's wrong with that?"

"Leave me alone Logan. I don't want anything to do with you anymore." I told him flatly.

"Oh yeah." He said bringing my face closer to his. "Why's that?"

I continued to look him in the eyes and replied sharply. "Because I don't waste my time with trash anymore."

He jerked me back off of him and I thought that I had finally won. But then he jerked his arm back and his palm smashed into my left cheek. Everything went black for a second. But before I hit the ground I thought that I could hear something howling angrily from the forest behind me.

Pain started to swell up in my face sending tears down my eyes. I knew I hadn't been knocked out long because I was still on the ground, soaking wet with rain and now mud. Also, I could hear a mixture of voices. One voice I easily recognized was at my ear. It was filled with worry.

"Cora! Are you alright?" Quil asked nervously. I sat up slowly while Quil supported my back with his hand. I could also hear another voice. This voice was frightening. Even more frightening than what Logan's had been. I tried to clear my head to see where it was coming from. I looked up to see Jacob with his massive hand around Logan's neck, pinning him up against a tree. Logan looked completely scared out of his mind and also about to suffocate. There was a low rumbling sound coming from Jacob that sounded as if he were growling. I could see Sam and Embry off to Jake's side. Embry's face was solemn while Sam looked disapproving. Jacob continued to stare at Logan and make those threatening noises. Then finally Sam spoke sternly to Jacob.

"Let him go Jake. You can't handle this. You're on the verge of losing it."

Jacob, I had begun to notice, was shaking extremely hard. It was as if he were trying to contain himself from blowing to pieces.

"Jacob!" Sam shouted.

Jake let out another growl but this time he spoke. "If you ever so much as look at her again you will answer to me. And next time I swear, it will be the last thing you do." He grabbed Logan and then slammed him into his car causing the glass to shatter. I then realized that Jacob was doing all that to protect me. Quil was staring at my face trying to read my emotions. He must have expected me to be freaked out by Jacob's viciousness. But the only thing I wanted at the moment was to be wrapped in his arms, letting the heat coming from his body warm me and make me feel secure.

The whole left side of my face ached. But I managed to mumble "Jacob." Loud enough to where he could hear me. Everyone turned their attention to me except for Logan. As soon as Jacob heard my voice he let go of him. Logan scrambled to his feet, got in his car, and drove exceedingly fast away from La Push. All the while Jacob stared at me, his shaking slowly dying away as his face turned sad. He took a step toward me and my eyes never left his. Sam put one of his hands against Jacob's chest to stop him.

"Jacob. Are you sure you can handle it." Sam said as if to warn him.

"I'm fine now." Jacob told him and he looked back to me. "I wont hurt her."

Sam still didn't remove his hand as he continued to look at Jacob. He looked as if he were debating something. But after a couple of seconds he removed his hand.

I wanted Jacob so much at that moment. Just to at least be near him. I couldn't help myself but to whisper again "Jacob."

And with that Jacob walked over to me quickly and bent down to were I was setting on the wet ground. Quil gave Jacob a strained look but backed away. I could hear Emily from behind going into hysterics. Sam tried calming her down as he explained everything. Embry hadn't moved from his former spot. He was looking off into the forest with his back turned to us. Jacob reached his hand up to brush the opposite side of my face that wasn't injured.

"Cora…I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" Jacob pleaded.

I didn't answer him. I pulled him closer to me as I buried the right side of my face into his warm neck. I shivered as I noticed how cold I was. Jacob wrapped his arms around me like I had wanted him to. Then he gentle picked me up off of the ground and started to walk back towards Sam and Emily's house. Once we were inside he didn't set me down but instead carried me into my room and placed me on the bed. He flipped the light on and stared into my eyes for a second.

Emily rushed into my bedroom on the verge of tears and Jacob moved out of her way. "Oh Cora." She gasped looking at my already swollen cheek and eye. It was extremely sore and still burned. "You're bleeding!" She exclaimed. "I'll be right back."

I looked up at Jacob. "Does it really look that bad?" I asked him trying to get him out of the dreary phase he was in.

"Yeah it does." He replied emotionless. Apparently, he didn't find my attempt to lighten the mood very humorous.

I felt like a kid who had done something wrong and is now being confronted by their parent's. "Are you mad at me?" I asked Jacob. Wincing at the prickling pain my face caused whenever I raised my eyebrows.

Jacob came over to me and bent down until he was eye level with me. His eyebrows knitted together. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"You were looking at me like I had done something wrong." I told him.

"You didn't do anything wrong." He paused for a minute then Emily came back with a first aid kit, a bowl of hot water, and then a cold washcloth. She began to work on my face but Jacob stopped her.

"I'll do it." He said calmly. Emily gave him an understanding look. See glanced up to me and then left closing the door behind her.

"You were saying…" I reminded him.

"Cora…you scared me to death whenever I saw what he done to you. I thought…" He explained but I interrupted him.

"I'm fine." I said as if it were no big deal.

"No your not. Cora, look at your arms and your face. He could have killed you." Jacob said with a pained expression. I looked at my arms and they had already begun to bruise badly. They trailed all the way up to my neck. I didn't even want to know what my shoulders looked like. "You don't have any idea what that would do to me if something ever happened to you."

Jacob got the warm water and began to wipe the blood away from my face. I started shivering again because of my wet clothes and hair. "You need to change clothes before you get hypothermia." Jacob told me. I stood up quickly but stumbled. Jacob grabbed me before I could fall. He didn't let go until he was sure that I was steadied. "Maybe you need to see a doctor."

"No! I'm fine, I promise." I assured him. I hated to go to the hospital.

I carefully walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas that consisted of sweat pants and a tank top. Jacob turned his back to me and then I noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt but just a pair of shorts. I could feel the blush rising in my cheeks as I hesitated to change my clothes.

"I could leave if you want." Jacob told me.

"No, I'll be done in a minute." I said as I quickly stripped off my wet clothes. I started to shake even more and so I had difficulty putting the warm clothes on. Also my arms and shoulders were extremely sore. I finally got done changing and turned around to see Jacob in the same spot as before. I stared at his russet colored back with the smooth curves of his shoulder blades softly sticking out. I gulped. "Ok…I'm done."

He turned back around and I changed my gaze to look at the floor as I walked past him to sit on the bed. I hope he couldn't see how red my face felt. He bent down again to continue to work on my face. He got out a band-aid and placed it on my cheek just in under my left eye. That's where the bleeding came from I suppose. He took the warm cloth and wiped my face gently. One of his fingers slid off the cloth and glided across my face leaving a satisfying burning sensation. That one finger felt ten times better than the wash cloth so I grabbed his hand, removed the wet cloth, and placed his palm on my cheek. I sighed as his heat spread through my body. I could hear him let out a long breath as if he had been holding it in all this time. I opened my eyes to find him staring at me.

"You're so warm." I said stupidly. I have already told him this.

"I know." He replied in a mumble. We both didn't move except for one of Jacob's fingers lightly drawing a circle against my face.

That was when it hit me. I finally had realized what I felt was missing from me whenever I saw Logan again. Ever since I moved here I kept telling myself that I was in love with him. This was true…until I met Jacob. I had fallen in love with Jacob but I didn't want to believe it so I told myself over and over again that stupid lie. The lie that proclaimed I was still in love with Logan. I knew that if Jacob would ever leave me that it wouldn't have hurt as much as if I had actually realized the truth. But after tonight, after what Logan done to me, I was able to see more clearly now. Jacob wouldn't leave me and now I trusted him more than anybody else in the world. Another dose of realization swept over me, I was in love with_ Jacob Black. _

I started giggling uncontrollably. Jacob withdrew his hand as I broke out into a laugh. I held my face as the laughter burned my cheek. Jacob continued to stare at me in shock. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked me with a worried tone.

I tried to stop giggling. "Yes. It's just I'm so happy."

"I think you've been hit a little to hard. I'd better get you checked out." He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me up but I just jerked him back down.

"You don't understand." I said with a smile.

Jacob looked at me like I had completely lost my mind. "You're right. I don't understand. First, some lunatic drags you outside, then threatens you, then that same lunatic beats you almost to unconsciousness, and now you act like you're the happiest person alive. Are you sure a piece of your brain didn't fall out when he hit you?"

I laughed again. "Don't you get it? I'm glad Logan beat the crap out of me."

Jacob's eyes drew tight. "Why?"

"Because, it made me realize that I'm not in love with him anymore." I grinned at actually saying that out loud.

Jacob returned my grin and he placed his hands on both sides of my face. "And you're happy about that?" He asked carefully.

"Very happy."

"Good. I always want you to be happy." Jacob whispered sincerely. Whenever he said that I debated in my mind whether or not to tell him how I felt about him. I almost let the words slip out but I caught myself. I've been through so much tonight that I didn't think I could handle it if Jacob did not feel the same way I did. Instead I just kept my mouth shut.

Jacob removed his hands from my face and as soon as he did my face began to throb again. "It's getting late." He said as he stood up. "I think I'd better let you get some rest." He walked over to turn out the light and opened the door.

It pained me to even think about him leaving me right then. "Wait."

"Yes?"

"Please don't go." I whispered. He didn't even think about it twice before he shut the door and the room became completely black. I thought I could see a faint smile on Jacob's lips as he came back over to me.

"I'm not going anywhere. As long as you want me, I'm here." He said sweetly as he climbed beside me on my bed. He wrapped his arms around me and I put my head on his bare chest, letting the warmth heal my throbbing cheek. "You should rest now."

My heart was racing. I couldn't even imagine falling asleep like this. He started to run his fingers through my wet hair as he breathed gently in and out. "Thank you." I whispered.

"For what?" He asked gently.

"For protecting me." I closed my eyes and breathed in that familiar scent of his body. It was the same scent I woke up to this morning.

"I'll always be here. Always." He whispered. It felt like he kissed my hair but I couldn't be sure.

**So this was my first drama filled chapter. How did I do? I hope you guys liked it. By the way, I have no ideas for my next chapter. Help me out?**


	14. There Comes A Time

**Author's Note: I would like to say thanks for all of the reviews! They were so awesome. I do have to apologize though. This chapter isn't exactly drama filled but is important to the next chapter. I guess you could call it a filler. Also, I figured that you would want to see what Jake was going through when Logan and Cora got in a fight. I'm sorry if this chapter bores you but in the next chapter I'll make it up to you! **

**Disclaimer: I'm just a Stephanie Meyer wanna be. So therefore I own nothing. :( **

14. There Comes A Time

JPOV

I was in a dilemma. I was lying next to Cora on her bed, wrapped in my mother's blanket she had made for me when I was a child. Cora's head was laying on my shoulder with her faced turned up to me. I knew she was asleep because of her soft snoring. I chuckled lightly, trying not to wake her. I wondered how she would react if I told her about that. I could imagine her mouth drop then shut tightly as her cheeks got red. Signaling that she was on the verge of fuming. Then her eyes would narrow and I wouldn't be able to contain my laughter.

A piece of hair had fallen over her face and I pushed it back. I didn't want anything to get in my way of looking at her beautiful face. I could feel my face turn into a frown as the thought earlier came back to my mind. Oh right, the dilemma. I knew the strong effect of imprinting and I knew from the first time that I saw Cora that I was in love with her. But still, after everything we have been through over the past couple of weeks, I now believed that I was capable of emotions stronger than imprinting. Before, I believed nothing could surpass it. But now I've realized that I was more in love with Cora than I have ever been. Was it possible to love someone that much, both naturally and unnaturally. I was beginning to think it was. But no matter how much I loved her she still had a choice.

I could feel that Cora was getting strongly attached to me. Earlier, whenever she told me that she was no longer in love with that moron, I could sense something had changed in her. She only confirmed my suspicions whenever she asked me to stay. Whether she was in love with me or not, or it was just my imagination, I couldn't be sure. But either way, as long as Cora remains apart of my life I knew that I would have to tell her the truth, all of it…and soon.

This was what I had been debating in my mind the entire night. Everyone keeps telling me that Cora was going to fall in love with me but I had my doubts. There was one thing that I was sure of though. Before she did fall in love with me, if she even does at all, then I would want her to know. She may like me now but what happens when she finds that I'm not what she really wants. What if in the end she becomes terrified of me. I could feel my heart constrict at the thought. I glanced down at Cora and squeezed her a little more tightly in my arms making sure I didn't hurt her. I didn't want to let her go. But as all the thoughts came blasting through me I knew this was the right thing to do, I would tell her the truth. And if she wanted to leave I would let her go.

I knew that if I did let her go then it would be tens worse than the loss I had felt when I had to let Bella go. I swallowed hard driving all those thoughts away. I had made up my mind anyways. No use in drowning myself in them. As for right now I would be content with holding the person I loved most in my arms as she slept peacefully and secure. I dreamt about what our future would be like together. I would protect her always. She would never be loved more than anyone else.

Her snoring became more louder and I couldn't keep my laughter in as I shook the whole bed. By some miracle though, she didn't wake up. I grinned and didn't bother to fight off the urge to kiss her softly on the forehead. I sighed as I pulled my lips away wondering how it would feel against hers. Cora's lips twitched upward as she mumbled something softly and buried her swollen eye into my chest. I had begun to shake a little at the memory of how she received that swollen eye.

_We were split into groups. I was with Quil and Embry was with Sam. We were making our usual rounds, as our paths grew farther away from home. I was ignoring everybody while once again thinking about_ _Cora. I was remembering how the lights reflected off her dark hair as she danced happily with me._

"_Oh please." Embry thought, intruding my wonderful daydream._

"_Shut it." I responded quickly as I again thought of how wonderful she felt as she leaned against me and dozed off. I could tell she was exhausted and so I carried her all the way to her room with a smile on my face taking my time as I went. I could've stood there all night with her in my arms watching her sleep._

"_Have you found anything new?" Sam asked me casually. Not hiding the fact he was trying to keep me on task._

"_Nope." I grunted. I heard Quil snickering._

_We heard a car driving toward La Push but didn't sense anything too unusual about it so we let it escape our thoughts. Almost ten minutes later Paul's thoughts came rushing into ours. Within twenty seconds we saw everything that had happened. Emily had called Billy telling him that someone was there that she didn't know and that she did not trust him. She told Billy that he sounded angry but Cora knew who he was. As soon as Cora opened the door the guy dragged her outside and Emily rushed to the phone to call him. Billy told Paul to warn us. _

_At that moment I was running faster than I had ever ran in my life. I had turned all of my focus toward the direction of Sam and Emily's home. I easily out ran Sam, Quil, and Embry. My ears picked up the slightest trace of voices as the miles of continuous forest stretched behind me. I could her Cora's frustrated but determined tone challenged by a voice of a guy. I wouldn't really call him a man. He seemed too young. I growled as the voice made threats to Cora. But I never heard any fear in her tone._

_I had finally reached the house where I was about to transform into my "human" form when my eyes caught something that had turned my body and mind into a complete monster. I could hear the hand of the blonde haired guy strike sharply and strongly into Cora's left side of her face. A vicious growl of pure anger and hatred erupted from within me as I stared at the mongrel. Barely believing what I had just seen. How could I have let this happen? Luckily I didn't hear any bones shatter. I charged forward in my wolf form. But at the same time Quil and Embry rammed into me blowing me back a little._

"_Jacob!" Sam shouted at me through his thoughts, as he looked me straight in the eye. "You know you can't go out there like this. Especially in that state of mind! Do you realize the danger you're putting Cora in?" _

_I tried to ignore him but Sam did the one thing that irritated me the most about being a werewolf. He gave me an order. "You will not move." _

_I growled at him, as I stayed frozen to the earth. "Sam please! I need to help her. I have to do something! Let me go NOW!" _

"_Change into your human form." I could see that Sam didn't want to allow me even this much but he could feel my desire to protect my love. Sam pitied me for he had felt it before. I phased and the next thing I knew I had the blonde creep by the neck pinned up against a tree. His face was contorted with shock and fear. I couldn't keep myself from shaking, as I desperately wanted to change back and rip him to shreds. My hand wound tighter around his neck, knowing that I could easily dispose of this sick idiot with another tight squeeze of my hand. _

_I could hear Sam's voice in the back of my mind warning me not to kill him. I could've blocked out his voice easily but something else brought me back to my humanity. I heard Cora shift around from her former position on the ground. Quil asked her nervously if she were all right. The guy who was still in my grip averted his horrified gaze back to Cora. The monster rose up again and I nearly choked the boy to death. Sam ceased his pleading and started demanding me to let him go so I wouldn't do something extreme. I do have to admit the thought was rather good at that moment. _

_But instead of ripping him to shreds I decided to spare his pathetic life as much as I had hated to. I growled a threatening warning at him, meaning every word I said. I knew that if I would ever come across him again like this then there would be nothing to stop me from killing him. I didn't want him to go without some form of injury so I slammed him into his car shattering the glass. I had made sure that more damage was inflicted on him than what he had done to Cora._

_I was still caught up in my rampage until I heard a whisper calling my name. Everything around me stopped. I didn't even notice Logan fleeing until the car was no longer at my side anymore. The only thing that I could look at was her. Cora's eyes seemed to be pleading with mine and I had absent-mindedly taken a step forward feeling more in control of myself. Sam wasn't convinced. He stopped me to make sure I wouldn't have an outburst all of a sudden but I reassured him. The look on my face must've convinced him because he backed off. _

_I went rushing to Cora's side taking her in my hands. She buried her face in my neck so I swept her up in my arms. Not sure at the moment why it had all seemed so natural. She clung to me the entire way to her bedroom as I reluctantly sat her down…_

I was broken from my memories of the night before whenever I heard a faint knock on the door. A couple of seconds later Sam came in with Quil and Embry at his sides. I managed to whisper low enough to not wake Cora from her sleep. "What are you guys doing up? It's almost five in the morning."

"We should be asking you the same thing." Embry whispered back.

"We were going to finish up our rounds. Wanna come?" Quil asked softly.

I smirked at them. "Is that a stupid question?" I asked, gesturing to the beauty that I was holding in my arms.

"I think it would be for the best. We'll meet you outside." Sam spoke seriously.

He was right. I did have some important things to tell them anyways. For example, the fact that I would be spilling all the beans to Cora tomorrow would probably be considered important. I sighed in disappointment that I wouldn't be able to wake up beside Cora. I slipped easily away from her as I placed her head softly on her pillow. Hopefully that would be comfortable enough for her though it probably wouldn't compare to a heating pad.

I bent down and kissed the edge of her ear. "I'll see you later." I whispered. I walked quietly out of my room and met the guys outside.

"I don't understand why you need me for." I told them bitterly.

"We have to make extra precautions these days. The Cullen's seem to attract attention." Sam told me. I rubbed my eyes.

"Didn't you sleep at all?" Sam asked.

"No. I had a lot on my mind."

"I bet you that I could guess what it was." Embry said it like a joke. I glared at him. Embry could be dirty minded.

"Yeah Jakey, what _did_ you have on your mind?" Quil pressed.

I ignored them as I jerked my shorts off and transformed. I began to run with Quil at my side but then I stopped. I had to know what they thought about what I was getting ready to do tomorrow. I also needed advice.

"_Oh come on Jake…your not seriously thinking about doing that are you…?" _Sam inquired. I could see in his mind what he was thinking. Quil and Embry had thrown him way off track.

Embry was about to make a comment but I interrupted. I did not want to know what he had to say at the moment. _"No! I'm not even…uh…we haven't…just listen. That was not what I was even referring to. I was actually planning on telling Cora about me. I mean everything. She has to know." _They could see how worried I was and felt sorry for me. They didn't know how Cora would react. Sam became very thoughtful, wondering if this would be the right time or not. He paced back and forth, his black fur moving softly along with his movements. He couldn't seem to make up his mind and I became irritated. Finally he came to an agreement with his thoughts.

"_I guess that this would be a good a time as any. You are right Jacob. She has to know sometime. It would be better to tell her before she grew too close." _I bent my head down in a swift nod. _"But remember. Her reactions could take you by surprise. You have to be able to control yourself." _Memories of Emily's scarred face came back to his mind. Embry and Quil tried to ignore Sam's memory, not wanting to further intrude his privacy though they can already see everything Sam felt.

"_That part I'm not worried about." _I told him honestly. I gave him a vision of Cora walking away, leaving me and never turning back.

"_Don't give up on her. You do realize she is your soul mate Jacob. She was meant to love you. One day she'll realize that."_

I let out a deep breath. _"I think you should go home and get some rest. You will need it."_

"_What about your 'precautions'?" _

Quil grinned. _"Oh well. More for me when I find a bloodsucker." _He became excited at the thought of a good fight. Embry rammed his head into Quil's shoulder and they began to play fight. They looked like puppies and I chuckled raggedly.

"_We can handle things for now I guess." _Sam said referring to the two balls of fur in front of us.

"_Ok." _I replied. I began to run back home. I could hear Sam's thoughts telling Embry and Quil to grow up. They both stopped but were laughing. It almost sounded like someone coughing.

"_Good luck Jake." _Quil told me as I phased into my human form.

I walked into my house and flopped on my bed. I shut my eyes trying to pull together how I was going to do all of this. To be honest I had know idea. The only thing I could do now was hope that Cora would look past everything else as I offered her my heart.

**So there we have it. I hope you all are pumped for the next chapter! It may surprise you.**


	15. Trust Me?

**Author's Note: I'm so excited! This chapter is very important and I just can't wait to hear what you think about it. I would like to thank all of my reviewers. You guys are the peanut butter on my jelly sandwich. You make it perfect! Thanks for your ideas and encouragement especially to one certain reviewer. You have helped me a lot. And I promise I will make you my beta-reader as soon as I figure out how to do so. Lol. Well, this is for all of you fans. I hope you enjoy! By the way, Merry Christmas!! **

15. Trust Me?

JPOV

I was twiddling the soft green bracelet that cover my dark wrist, running my finger occasionally across the letters it held. I wondered at it idly as I stalled. Would she still at least want to be my friend after I told her what I truly was? It wasn't as if I was a completely different person than what I had led her to believe. In fact I was more myself when I was around her. I just had a different side to me was all. It wasn't even a bad side that was in me. It's my past and my blood inheritance. I was even considered a protector among my people. Surely she would see that instead of what I thought of myself sometimes. A monster.

I knew that the pack and I weren't monsters at all. But I couldn't help but be bitter at the fact that I couldn't be completely human. I couldn't have a normal life like everyone else did. Some of my brothers thought of this as a blessing that they were lucky enough to be a protector of the tribe, or what ever you wanted to call it. As for me, I saw it as a curse. I wanted to be more like Cora, to be able to relate with her, as we grew old together with nothing paranormal or unnatural stopping us. I just wanted to be happy. Actually, I just wanted her to be happy. I was so afraid that the whole stupid werewolf thing was going to destroy all of it. Cora didn't have to accept me if she didn't want to. I never really expected for her to just give up a perfectly normal life for someone like me. But I could feel deep within a constant ache of desire that she would accept me for what I was. It was going to break me.

I looked at the small alarm clock that notified me it was almost noon. I had spent the most part of my morning staring at the bracelet Cora had made me for my birthday. I smirked at the fact that the stitches of the letters oddly resembled the color of my skin. I reluctantly stood up and put my clothes on slowly. Just wearing my usual shorts and a black t-shirt. My shaggy hair stuck out in all kinds of directions on top of my head showing the signs of fingers being run through them for hours. I smoothed my hair down thankful that it wasn't long or I would have had a real mess on my hands. Though the distraction seemed rather nice at the moment. I looked at myself in the mirror knowing that I couldn't put this off any longer. If I did I would probably go insane at the anticipation.

I didn't bother to put my shoes on as I walked out the door. The closer I got to Sam and Emily's house the more my heart sank. I really did not want to do this. If it were up to me I would keep this secret forever. But I wasn't doing this for me. I was doing it for Cora. I jumped up on the porch and went over to knock on the door. I heard light footsteps quicken their pace after a second as they drew near to the door. I could tell it was _her._

* * *

CPOV

I woke up this morning to a very big headache. My face didn't throb anymore but it was still sore. But despite all of that I was smiling. I remembered that Jacob had stayed with me last night. I almost giggled like the pathetic teenage girl I was but when I rolled over, there was nothing there but my stupid wall. My smile deflated and I felt more pathetic about the whole giggling thing. I had slept wonderfully last night despite my previous nightmare I had with Logan yesterday. Even though what he did to me was horrible I couldn't find it in myself to even be mad at him. He let me find something better and for that I was sort of grateful.

I stretched still a little bitter at the absence of my heater. If there was one thing for certain it was that Jake was hot. Literally. I had no use for a blanket last night though he still draped it over me. I thought I was going to have a heat stroke. But I welcomed it as long as Jacob didn't leave. I mentally slapped myself again. I was seriously turning into a lovesick teenage girl. Scratch that, I already was.

I got up out of bed seeing that it really didn't further my interest anymore. I walked into the bathroom and gasped. My left eye was blue and purple while my upper left cheek was almost completely black with bruises. Not to mention the fact that it was still a little swelled and bulky. The left side of my face looked like an oversized rotting blue berry. I couldn't believe that Jacob had seen me like this. It was no wonder why he left. Ugh!

I ran into the kitchen to find some ice to put on my rotting blue berry when I found Emily in the kitchen making breakfast. Emily saw me and let out a surprised gasp and then her face turned red from embarrassment at her own reaction. She knew I must've heard it. I could feel the blood burning in my cheeks. You could only see it in the right one though.

"Oh honey, it's not that bad." Emily assured me.

"Yes it is." I told her a bit sharp. I knew she was lying to me.

"Well, ok it is bad. But it will heal." She said calmly.

I sighed irritated at the fact I would probably look like rotting fruits for at least the next month. First I would look like a rotting blue berry, then a rotting grape, then a rotting green apple mixed with the color of a rotting banana. I walked over to the refrigerator to get some ice and wrapped it up in a towel.

"Sam told me to let you use this. He said it would heal faster." Emily reached into the freezer and pulled out a slab of meat that looked like a steak.

I raised an eyebrow at Emily. "You're not really expecting me to put that on my face are you?" I questioned her.

"It could help." She told me innocently.

"How?" I asked in disbelief. What made a steak better than ice for healing bruises and making swelling go down?

"I don't know. Sam just said it would help and work better than ice. I would trust him if I were you." She chuckled a little. "He has had enough injuries in the past to learn a thing or two."

I grimaced at the meat. Why would I waste a perfectly good piece of meat like that? Surely ice would be good enough. It's not like it could perform miracles.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Emily said out of nowhere. "Jacob left this note for you." She handed me a piece of paper folded neatly and had my name printed in scraggily words across it. I smiled at the fact that even though I didn't get to see him this morning I was still able to hear from him. I opened it up.

_Cora, _

_I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you got up this morning. I figure you must have been a little confused. Believe me when I say that it was very important and I still almost didn't leave you. I wont be back until later this afternoon. I want to share something with you and I ask that you would please be patient with me. You'll understand later. Also, listen to Sam he knows what he is doing. I've had experience. I'll see you later._

_P.S. Has anyone ever told you how lovely your snoring is? It was rather musical._

_Jacob._

What?! He listened to me snore! I became extremely mad. Not at Jacob but at me. I had officially been humiliated and the only person to know about it was Jacob. I could imagine my entire face turning red.

"Something wrong?" Emily asked. I quickly masked my frustration at my stupid snoring and myself. I didn't want Emily in on this either. I wondered if she knew about mine and Jacob's sleepover last night. I would definitely never live that down because Emily and everyone else are convinced that we going to end up together if we weren't already. They wouldn't understand that it was only a friend thing. I needed him with me last night. And I kind of got the feeling that he needed me too.

"Nope! I'm fine." I said quickly. I eyed the steak that was sitting in the counter and shook my head. If this would help me in any way I would be willing to try it, especially if I was going to be seeing Jacob later today. I prayed that it would be able to perform some sort of miracle before noon.

I ate my breakfast more slowly than usual. I knew that I would be counting the minutes until he came so I tried to preoccupy myself. I wondered what he was wanting to talk with me about and why would it require me to be patient. It made me sort of nervous but I brushed it off. Jacob wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Believe it or not I was beginning to actually trust him.

All through breakfast Emily looked at me suspiciously as she quietly chewed her French toast. I was going to ask her why she seemed so tense but I knew I probably didn't even want to go there. I helped her clean up and washed the dishes. By that time it was getting around eleven. I decided to get ready for Jacob but Emily stopped me.

"So what are you going to be up to today?" She asked interested.

"I'm going somewhere with Jacob this afternoon. Do you need anything?"

"No I don't need anything. Where are you going?" Emily was fishing me for details. Luckily I didn't have a clue about anything so I just answered her with a simply response.

"I don't really know." I told her.

"Oh." She smiled warmly at me, the scars on her face tensing against the motion. "Did I ever tell you how proud I am of you?"

"Yes. Multiple times actually."

"Did I ever tell you why?" I shook me head. Why would she be proud of me? She answered my unspoken question. "You're strong, beautiful, smart, and modest. A little too modest for your own good though." She said. Then she wrapped me in a big hug. "I can always trust that you will do the right thing."

I laughed and she let go of me. "I'm not as good as you think."

"Like I said, you are to modest for your own good." I looked up at the clock and started to panic. Jacob would be here in forty-five minutes and I didn't even have a shower yet.

"Go ahead and get ready. Don't worry about the time. I have a feeling that Jacob would wait for you."

I rolled my eyes and began getting ready. I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth. I walked back into my room dressed in a towel, searching through my closet for something to wear. I became very annoyed with myself. Before now I had never really cared what I had worn around Jake. Just because I was in love with him didn't really make him see me any differently. I bet he cared less about what I wore. But still I searched over and over again until I finally just pulled something out. It was warm out today but it was supposed to rain. I decided on a pair of Levi shorts and a tank top. I would bring my thin jacket in case it rained. I dried my hair and let it hang straight down my back. I don't even know why I bothered. The moment water would hit it; it would spring right back up into wild curls.

I looked at my face in the mirror, grimacing at my rotting blue berry. I tried to put make up on it but every time I touched my face and tried to cover it up I would have to stop. My face was to sore for any make up to be applied. Jacob would be here any minute. I hope he wouldn't be as disgusted ad I was to my bruises. I sighed.

I heard a knock at the door and my mood became shockingly giddy at the thought seeing him in the next minute. I took a second to control myself and walked rather quickly to the door. I was too anxious to remember why I was reluctant to see Jake in the first place. I opened the door with a small smile on my face awaiting his response to my appearance. He looked down at me and my smile vanished completely. His eyes were filled with what looked like hurt and worry. That warm lovable smile was covered by an emotionless frown. I could feel my expression match his as he looked at me with confusion.

"Are you alright?" His soft voice asked with worry.

"I should ask you the same thing." I threw back at him.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about me." I hardened my gaze at him. He was being really cryptic. It just didn't suit him.

He reached his fingers out toward my face and gently traced over my rotting blue berry. "Does it hurt you?" He asked concerned.

I broke my eyes away from his. "Only when it hurts other people to look at it." I told him honestly.

Jacob wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back trying to comfort me. "I promise that is not what is bothering me." He said pausing. "I just don't want to lose you." He whispered.

I pulled back way from him. I reached up to touch his cheek mimicking the same thing he had done to mine. "I'm not going anywhere."

Jacob closed his eyes and sighed uneasily into my hand. He looked so hurt. After a moment he spoke but didn't open his eyes. "Will you go somewhere with me." He asked as if I might refuse.

"Of course." I told him. I was getting worried myself.

He opened his eyes and then took my hand. We left Sam and Emily's house and started to head through the forest. We took our time while none of us spoke. We just enjoyed each other's company for the time being. Jacob never let go of my hand as made our way to the destination that I wasn't aware of. Curiosity struck me. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He said distantly. I could tell his mind was wandering.

We finally made it out of the forest onto a secluded part of the beach. Over to the far left was a cliff that over looked the ocean. We were standing down below it on the sand. The clouds were filling the sky in swirling patterns, getting darker by the minute. I looked over to Jacob who had walked toward a stone that was half buried in the sand. He was staring up at the sky like I had a minute ago. I came over to him and placed my hand on his arm. "Mind telling me what's going on now?" He was not only worrying me but also getting on my nerves. I had to remind myself of the earlier request to be patient.

He let out a deep breathe and looked at me warily. "You might want to sit down." He motioned toward the rock and I did what he asked. "This is going to be very difficult. Promise me one thing." He almost begged.

I gave him a reassuring smile. "Anything you want." I told him sincerely.

He backed away from me and I frowned at his actions. "Trust me."

"I already do." I said.

"There are some things that you don't know about me. Actually, things that you don't know about us." He began.

"Who are 'us'?" I asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about all my friends, your friends too. Sam, Embry, Quil, Paul, Jared, Seth, Collin, Brady, and Leah too." Yep, I was confused. Jacob fought for words. "We all have one thing in common, something that we have had to hide from you. We only did it so we wouldn't have to hurt you. We all know that you have had a bad history of trusting people. But now, things have changed. Everyone is so close to you. Including me. You are a part of our family now. I've been close to you since the first time I met you. Which is why I have to tell you the one thing in my life that I both hate and love." He paused again.

I did my best to encourage him. "You can tell me anything Jake." He never moved but kept his eyes locked on mine.

"Has anyone ever told you about our legends?" He asked. I had no idea where he was going with this but decided to go along with it.

"Yes. I've known them for as long as I could remember. My mother used to tell us the stories to me and Lori when we were little." I said recalling all those times my mother tried to be a good story teller those nights on Halloween at the Makah reservations. They didn't really scare me except for the one about the third wife who killed herself to save her husband that could turn into a wolf who was getting ready to get torn to shreds by the "cold one". The cold one was supposed to be a vampire.

"So you know all about how our ancestors were spirit warriors who eventually could change themselves into a form of a wolf." He asked again.

"Yes. I remember. I know all of those legends that talks about how their sole purpose became to hunt and kill vampires." Jacob laughed, but I didn't like the sound of it.

"That pretty much covers it." He mumbled.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I was clearly thrown off. Wasn't he supposed telling me something important?

Jacob turned his back on me for a moment and stared into the forest, not saying anything. I sighed rather loudly hoping to cue him on the whole telling me the important stuff. I kept repeating in my head, patience. He turned back around with a hurt look that covered all of his face.

"What if I told you that all of those things are true? That those things really happened…are still happening?"

I stared at him for second letting that sink in. "What are you saying? That there are still spirit warriors running around turning into wolfs at night?"

Jacob gave me a serious look. "You could say that."

After he didn't say anything else I became mad. I never expected Jacob to lie to me about something like that. Even when I had completely trusted him, he goes and does something like this. I started to get even angrier for allowing myself to trust someone so completely. I should've been smart enough to know that no one could ever be trusted and I was a fool to have believed otherwise. But as mad as I was, I was even more hurt.

I glared at Jacob as a tear rolled down my stupid blue and black cheek. "How could you do something like this to me. Why would you lie?" I croaked out on the verge of sobbing.

"I'm not lying to you Cora. All of us, the ones I mentioned earlier, are werewolves. Something like the spirit warriors that protected our tribe so long ago. That's what we do Cora, we are the protectors."

I shook my head not believing what I was hearing. "How could you expect me to believe something like that?" I said sharply letting the anger spill out.

"I don't expect you to believe me. I was only hoping that you would trust me." He pleaded.

I couldn't take it anymore. The hurt was overcoming the anger and my chest was constricting. I had to get away from him. Jacob was breaking my heart. I stood up and began to run and leave but Jacob stopped me. "Cora please wait." Jacob told me calmly.

"Why should I!?" I yelled.

"Because…I can prove it to you." He said with a hint of regret. I continued to glare at him. "I know that deep inside you, you still trust me. Just give me five minutes. Then, if you still want to leave I'll let you go." He said. I could see the brims of his eyes becoming red at that last sentence. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I did trust him. He looked at me and motioned me to sit down. I did to show him I was giving him a chance. "Sam is going to give me crap for doing this." He said to himself.

"I'll be right back. And Cora…" he trailed off.

"What." I replied weakly. I was emotionally drained.

"Don't be afraid." I didn't know what he was referring to as he pulled off his shirt and ran into the forest. The confusion I felt didn't seem to end. That was until a minute later I heard something coming from the dark shrouded trees. I looked up quickly to see a gigantic russet colored wolf standing a little less then twenty feet away from me.

I couldn't believe my eyes. The creature looked at me intently and gently walked closer to me. At the moment the only thing I could feel was disbelief and fear. But then I saw something strapped onto its right front paw. It was a green woven band that had the same color of the wolf's fur stretched across the middle of it. I looked back up to its eyes and they looked so familiar. They were a soft, warm brown color that was almost black. Then, something inside me snapped.

**I know you all hate me right now, but someone requested a cliffie and so I will give them a cliffie. Plz let me know how I did. You guys make my day when I check my inbox and find a little review tucked away under all of my junk mail. It's gold compared to everything else. Love you all! Hehehehe. Just wait until the next chapter. But I can't get started unless I get my little gold reviews, so help me out.**


	16. Decisions

**Author's Note: I am so sorry! For some stupid reason I thought that I had already posted this chapter. *slaps myself in the face* I had a major blonde moment lol. No offense to anyone who is blonde. If you only knew...This chapter turned out to be very long. Well at least it seemed so to me. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. Let me give a big thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers and for the people who added my story and me to their favorites and their alerts. You guys are what fuel this story. I personally want to thank A Fri3nd for letting me know that I in fact, had not updated yet. And also for my beta- reader who helps make this story better. Thanks a bunch and this is for all of you! (I admit it's for me too.)**

Declaimer: Everything belongs to Stephanie Meyer!

16. Decisions

CPOV

_I couldn't believe my eyes. The creature looked at me intently and gently walked closer to me. At the moment the only thing I could feel was disbelief and fear. But then I saw something strapped onto its right front paw. It was a green woven band that had the same color of the wolf's fur stretched across the middle of it. I looked back up to its eyes and they looked so familiar. They were a soft, warm brown color that was almost black. Then, something inside me snapped. _

The fear I had felt earlier vanished as I stood up slowly. The wolf stopped coming toward me and froze. It looked almost as if it were frightened of me. I could only imagine what my face looked like. It probably looked horror struck from my previous fear I had felt toward the wolf. So I masked it and tried to make my features appear calm because I wasn't scared, I felt something different. I looked back into the wolf's eyes again and they still held that same smoldering compassion that made me feel so secure. Even though I was staring at a massive wolf the size of a horse I knew that it was still my Jacob. As I took another step toward him I smiled. I still loved him, despite the fact that he could turn into a canine. I smiled even wider at myself because I knew I had to be crazy. A sane person would not be standing here laughing at herself while facing a gigantic wolf that could possibly tear you to shreds. Jacob took a step back probably thinking that I had lost my mind with everything going on.

I slowly walked toward him and he almost turned to go but I didn't want him to. I wanted to show him that I truly trusted him.

"Jacob, stop." I said gently.

Jacob turned toward me and didn't move. I came up to him and I had to look up a little to see his face. He was looking at me warily as I gave him a grin. "I promise I'm not crazy. You asked me to trust you. So now I am," I held my hand up to his face and he met me half way, leaning his head into my hand. He had closed his eyes so I began stroking his face. I could see his bushy tail wagging back and forth from behind him. At that I couldn't contain my laugh. Jake's eyes popped open but I still stroked his soft fur that lined the bridge of his dark wet nose. I finally felt him become relaxed.

"You have to be the cutest dog I have ever seen." I teased. He pulled his face out of my hand and licked me across the cheek getting slobber all over my face. "Yuck!" I wiped my face with my sleeve while Jacob let out a husky noise that sounded like a gargled laugh. I glared at him but he continued to make the laughing sound. I turned away from him and sat on the ground feigning anger. Jacob came from behind me and lay down on his stomach so we could both be at each other's eye level.

Everything became serious at that moment. Jacob looked at me intensely and it was like I could read his mind as I listened to his jagged breathing. I stared back at him and ran my hand across the back of his neck. I leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you." I heard him let out a breath. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. So what if you can transform into a hairy wolf. I'm not willing to let you go. You're still my Jacob." I buried my face into Jacob's neck and hugged him. I pulled back and he rested his forehead against mine. For a long time I just sat there and leaned my body into his chest. We watched the clouds growing more violent but neither of us really paid that much attention to the oncoming storm. Jacob made a growling sound as drops of rain begin to fall.

I jumped up forgetting all about the weather until thunder rocked the sky. "It looks like we're about to get wet." I told Jacob, not really sure what to do. I could see him roll his eyes as he pulled his mouth back into what I believed was a smile, showing razor sharp teeth. To someone else, this would probably look terrifying but I chuckled at the thought of his "wolfie" smile. It was sort of adorable; not adorable like his human smile though. Jacob stood up and stood in front of me side ways. I could see how long he was. His fluffy tail rustling back and forth. I decided that was what I loved best about Jacob's wolf form.

Jacob stared at me for a moment the rain on the verge of pouring. After a minute he grunted and I could see he was growing impatient with something. "What?" I asked. He nudged me with his side and dropped down lower to the ground. "Oh." I said dumbly. I could see now that he wanted me to get on his back. He was going to let me ride on him. "No way. I can't. I could never even ride a horse that was fully equipped with a saddle." Jacob grunted as a flash of lighting streaked across the sky. Followed by a loud boom of thunder. I was starting to get a little scared now. I wasn't very fond of storms.

I hesitated as I gripped the fur on Jacob's neck. He smiled again showing his teeth. But even that couldn't lighten my mood and fear of what I was getting ready to do. "You won't let me fall off will you?" I asked nervously. He shook his head. I almost swung my leg over but stopped myself in mid air. "Promise me you won't go fast." But I had made a mistake. I let my leg rest on the other side of him allowing him to stand up and take off before he could give me an answer.

My head was racing as he darted through the forest. I couldn't see anything. I was surrounded by blurs off dark greens and browns. I held onto Jacob's neck for dear life. I could barely feel him moving underneath me he was going so incredibly fast. I believe for most of the ride back to Emily and Sam's, I was in shock. My mind couldn't register with the speed he was traveling. Underneath me I could hear Jacob's barking laugh but I didn't pay that much attention to it or to the growing storm overhead. All at once the blurs vanished and I could see everything more clearly. We were at the edge of the forest and I could see the back of Sam's house. It was still light out but was getting darker. We had pretty much out ran the storm but it was still heading this way. The rain hadn't even begun to fall over here. Jacob dropped lower to the ground like he did when he wanted me to get on his back. I knew he was allowing me to get off now but I couldn't. I clutched at the fur on his neck. I wondered if I was hurting him with my grip but I still couldn't move. Jacob laughed again as we both listened to my breathing that was finally beginning to slow down.

Finally, I got my nerve together and let go of his neck and released the hold that my legs had on his back. I slid off of him feeling a little light-headed. I tried to stand but my legs felt like Jell-O and so I instantly fell and landed on my butt. Jacob rolled over laughing harder than he was before, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. I was embarrassed at myself but I was too shaken to trudge away from him angrily like I wanted to.

"You think I look ridiculous, you should look at yourself." I told him angry. I put my head and my hands while I ranted to myself. "Stupid over grown puppy." I mumbled. Jacob continued to laugh.

"It's not funny! It's your fault that I can't even see straight right now. You scared the crap out of me!" I told him bitterly. Jacob stopped laughing but chuckled as he ran off into the forest. I counted to thirty before warm arms wrapped around me.

"I'm sorry that I scared you. If you could only see your face," He said before chuckling again. "I could almost mistake you as a vampire you were so pale." He teased.

"Ha ha," I mumbled sarcastically my face still buried in my hands.

Jacob pried my hands away from my face. "Look at me Cora." I looked at him with a glare. He just smiled. "Forgive me?" He pouted then, reminding me of his tail wagging back and forth happily. All day he had been worried, sad that I wouldn't accept him and that I would leave him. He was happy now that I had decided to stay with him. That gave me hope that one day he would feel the same way I did about him.

I smiled back my head becoming clearer. "Okay, but you have to promise you'll never do that again." I challenged him.

"I can't promise that," He smiled evilly.

"Could you at least warn me the next time you decide to give me a heart attack?"

"I guess it's only fair," Jacob said. His arms still stayed tightly around me as we listened to the storm catching up to us. "We'd better get back inside."

I was then reminded of Sam. "Does everyone else know that I know about their…secret?" I wondered.

Jacob looked at me still smiling. I noted that he had been smiling ever since he had changed back. "They know that I was going to tell you today, but what they don't know is your reaction. I don't think they are expecting to see you."

"Why?"

"I guess they thought that you would take off running. You have been through a lot already. None of them thought you could handle it." He explained.

"You didn't think I could've handled it either did you?" I paused and he frowned. "That's why you were in such a bad mood earlier."

"Like I said, I didn't expect you to believe me, but I am sure glad you trusted me. I don't think that I would know how to live with myself if you had left me," He said sadly.

"I think you could've managed." I told him.

"That's what _you_ think. What I told you back at the cliffs were true, you mean so much to me," He said seriously.

"Thanks. You mean a lot to me too," I replied. We could hear that storm drawing nearer. All at once Jacob jumped up, pulling me with him, and then he threw me across his shoulder and began to walk casually toward the house.

"What are you doing? You do realize that I am a healthy teenage girl that weighs more than a hundred pounds. I'm not exactly light."

I couldn't see his face but I could tell he was grinning. "I just carried you for miles on my back in less than two minutes. Walking a couple of yards isn't exactly hard."

Jacob got to the porch but ignored the stairs and jumped up without any hesitation. To my surprise we were in front of the door. "How did you…"

Jacob just smiled and said, "It's a werewolf thing. I'm incredible strong for the average human."

After everything I had seen that day I was still amazed. He set me down gently and all I could muster up to say was, "Cool."

Jacob began laughing. I pushed him but I couldn't even budge him an inch. He wasn't kidding about being strong.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, okay, you're cool. Don't let it get to your head you big show off." I opened the door to find everyone inside staring at the both of us. It was like Jacob's birthday party all over again. Except everyone looked like they were about to go in shock, especially Emily. I just looked at Jacob with an eyebrow raised.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

Before he could speak Sam interrupted. "You did tell her, didn't you, Jake?"

"Yup," Jacob said shrugging his shoulders like it had been no big deal.

No one said anything else but continued to stare at me. I think they were waiting any second now for me to go running and screaming. "Umm, so…I guess that means I have to be sworn into secrecy now."

"Odd," Jared said.

"What?" I asked him. Was I doing something wrong?

"You are taking this surprisingly well," Emily told me. "Are you sure you are ok?"

"I'm fine." I said shrugging my shoulders like Jacob had done.

"Well…okay. Welcome to the club!" Paul said taking my head in under his arm while rubbing the top of my head.

"Ow…thanks Paul." I said pushing him off of me. "Was that really necessary?" I asked him irritated that he got the top of my head into knots of hair that would really hurt to get out.

"Of course it was! Everyone has to get one before they join the pack." He said laughing at my Afro that he had created. I tried to get it to lie down but was not succeeding. I could see Jacob glaring at Paul. All of the girls came over and hugged me. I had forgotten about them. I guess they had known all along that their boyfriends were werewolves. I excused myself to my room to try and get all the knots out of my hair. I wondered how Leah felt being the only girl out of the group to be a werewolf. It must be hard surrounded by all of those guys.

I was already beginning to think of everyone as my own family and now I felt even closer that I knew their innermost secret. I knew that this new secret would change my life now and that this would have to be something I would most likely have to deal with for the rest of my life, but it didn't matter. As long as I could keep Jacob and the ones I had grown to love, none of this would matter.

-

-

-

JPOV

When Cora left the living room all eyes were now focused on me. I made my way over to the couch and plopped down feeling a mixture of relief and now worry. Relief because Cora finally knew everything and above that, actually accepted it. Worry because the glances I was receiving were full of curiosity. I had a lot of explaining to do. I broke the silence to get it all over with before Cora came back.

"What? I promise I didn't brain wash her or anything. It was her decision not mine." I told them. No one spoke but just looked at me. I closed my eyes and laid my head back on the couch.

"She is so calm. I never expected this from her," Emily stated.

I opened my eyes to look at Emily. "She's a lot stronger than you think."

"We are just surprised, Jacob." Sam said defending Emily.

"I know," I said apologizing to Emily. This was a lot to handle especially for all the former imprints. I remembered that none of them had ever taken it this well before.

"How much does Cora actually know?" Sam asked bringing up another issue that was certainly important.

"Only that we are werewolves. She doesn't know about anything else," I said sadly.

"So she doesn't know anything about imprinting?" Quil inquired.

"No," I said simply.

"When are you going to tell her?" Kim asked eagerly.

"I don't know. I don't want to push her too fast. I want her to feel things on her own, not because she feels forced." I said desperately to make them understand that now wasn't the right time for that.

"Well, that's stupid. You should just get it over with" Paul replied. Rachel smacked him in the head.

"Oh, shut up, Paul. This is about Jacob," Rachel stood up and came over to sit next to me on the couch.

"You've been through a lot today Jake. You can think about the rest later." She reached over to give me a hug and my mouth fell open in shock. Rachel was never this nice to me. I knew that she loved me and everything but she always acted tough.

"Since when are you so…caring?" I said in disbelief. Rachel punched me in the arm and then grabbed my cheek.

"It's just that my little Jakey is all grown up." She teased.

I laughed thankful that Rachel had managed to relieve my stress. "You always did know how to ruin such a sappy moment." I told her.

"Thanks," She said as if I actually gave her a compliment.

Cora had walked back in the room. Her hair seemed to be back to normal after Paul's little "welcome to the club" charade. I made myself a mental note to give Paul a taste of his own medicine later. Everything turned back to normal despite our earlier discussion. Small talk was made about the whole werewolf thing and Cora just sat and listened with interest. I could tell she was pondering about different questions that, knowing Cora; she was too ashamed to ask. I would be the one to answer them. I knew she was more comfortable around me. It was almost ten thirty and soon everyone left. Sam and Emily both had gone to bed leaving Cora and me by ourselves in the living room. I reached for the remote but Cora stopped me.

"Jacob…um…I was wondering." She thought for a moment, a deep blush spreading across her face.

I smirked at her wondering what was causing her to blush. I didn't say anything at first but then she didn't say anything else. My curiosity got the best of me. "Yes?"

She looked down at her hands. "Well, you don't have to if you don't want to." She told me seriously.

"What is it?" I said chuckling.

"Would you stay with me again?" She said while still keeping her gaze down.

"Sure," I answered casually. What I really wanted to do was shout "YES!" at the top of my lungs, but that would probably end badly on my part so I managed to contain my enthusiasm. Cora was still looking down. I put one of my fingers under her chin and lifted it up so I could see her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just…" She paused. "I was afraid you would say no. Also, that was kind of embarrassing. I feel like a child." She said quietly like she had done something bad.

I laughed at her. "Don't be embarrassed. I'm glad you asked," She smiled but then her expression became angry. I gave her a puzzled look.

"Which reminds me, I do not snore!" She said sharply. I tried to contain my laughter. The look she was giving me was just like I had imagined it to be the night before. I was glad to have remembered that and put it in that note. This was just priceless.

"Stop laughing at me! I do NOT snore!" She repeated. But I couldn't stop laughing. After I calmed down a bit she was turned the other way.

"I'm sorry, Cora. You should see your face when you are angry." She was still turned around. "Do you want me to leave?" I asked sadly.

With that she turned around sharply, "No! I mean… no I don't want you to leave." I could see her blush again. I gave her a crooked smile and she blushed even harder.

"You should probably get some sleep," I whispered. She nodded so I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. I heard her gasp and I chuckled.

I walked into her room but I didn't let her go. Instead I began tickling her. She laughed hysterically.

"Put me down!" She yelled in between laughs.

"Not until you say that you forgive me," I told her. I could feel her shake her head. "Fine," I said as I continued to tickle her.

"Okay! I forgive you! Just stop, please!" She laughed breathlessly. I sat her down on the bed and watched her catch her breath.

"You're evil," She stated.

I wrapped my arms around her. "So, what are you going to do about it? I have a feeling that you can't stop me."

"Good point," She said with a smile. I grinned into her direction and she shook her head.

"Over grown puppy," She murmured.

"Yeah, but at least I'm _your_ overgrown puppy." I said lightly.

"What am I going to do with you?" She asked teasingly.

I unwrapped my arms that were around her shoulders. She stood up and went over to her dresser. "Do you need a moment of privacy?" I asked.

"No, I'll just be a second," I turned my back to her ignoring the sounds of her pulling off her clothes. I wanted to punch myself for even imagining something like that. I mentally cursed my hormones and was grateful when I heard her pulling some clothes back on. She shut the door back and I had noticed that my hands were clenched into fists. I breathed in and out trying to get a hold on myself.

"All done," She chirped. I turned back around to find her in only a tank top and a pair of really skimpy shorts. Was she secretly _trying_ to torture me? I didn't reply as she brushed past me and started to pull the covers back.

"Do you need something to sleep in?" She asked.

"Uh, no…I'm fine." I managed to get out.

She took note of my wardrobe looking at my shorts. Then she stared at my shirt and frowned. I looked down to see what was wrong with it but couldn't find anything. I wanted to pull it off to make myself more comfortable but decided against it. There was only so much that I could take. I got into bed first and scooted all the way over to give Cora some room. She went to turn out the light and I began to relax a little. Maybe if I couldn't see her it wouldn't be so bad. She got into bed carefully but slid all the way next to me where I could feel her against me. I gulped.

She looked nervous for some reason so I pushed all of my stupid thoughts aside and put my arm around her. We were both lying on our sides facing each other.

"I have a couple of questions, Jake," She said yawning. I was grateful that she was the one who broke the silence but she needed to rest.

"I know. Go to sleep, Cora. I promise I'll explain everything tomorrow," I promised her.

I felt her nod as she snuggled more closely into me. I shut my eyes and allowed myself to savor this perfect moment. Not everything this good lasts forever.

**I have gone blank…again. Any suggestions of what should happen next? I've got a couple of ideas but they aren't exactly all that good. Help me out? If you don't than you can still send me some sort of review. Either way, it would help. And also make me feel all good inside. Lol. It might take a little longer to update. Sorry but I don't even have a starting point for the next chapter. I promise to do my best. **


	17. Author's Note So Sorry

Hey guys. I know how much everyone nags on and on about stupid author's notes (don't blame ya by the way, they are annoying) but this is necessary so please continue reading. So I got some very bad news. Right now I am currently using someone else's computer because mine had a MAJOR meltdown. So that means no more updates for a while. Unless…I find a way to get my hands on another computer and that would be a totally different story.

**I apologize greatly to everyone because I know how aggravated I get with excessive delayed updates. I just ask everyone not to give up on me. I know what is going to happen now for my story. It's just a matter of getting it to you. **

**I love you all! I promise to make it up to you as soon as I can. I will do something drastic if that is what it takes. Lol. I'll do my best and I WILL finish this story.**

**Thanks!**


	18. Looking Back

**Author's Note: Guess what guys?! My computer is healed! That means more updates. I am sooo excited. Bad news is that during the long miserable process of getting my computer fixed the whole microsoft word had to be taken off and so there goes my spell check. Thanks goodness that I have my totally awesome beta-reader to back me up or all of this would sound like crap. (Thanks for teaching me how to spell Quileute btw) I just wanted to thank you guys for not giving up on me. This chapter is very short because I wanted to give you all a update as soon as my computer got fixed. But don't think that I just through it all together. There is a purpose behind this....**

17. Looking Back

CPOV

"It's about time you got up," A deep voice whispered next to my ear. I opened my eyes quickly to see the russet-colored skin of Jacob's neck. I hadn't noticed at first, but my arms were snaked across Jacob's stomach and chest. I knew that Jacob could easily free himself of my tight grasp that my hands had on him, but he didn't move to undo it. I suddenly released my grip and brought my arms to my own chest. Then pushed myself away from him so that my face wasn't tucked awkwardly into his neck.

"Sorry," I said humiliated. Jacob kept his arm underneath my shoulder and grinned. His eyes were still groggy as he yawned. I could tell he had just gotten up a few minutes before me.

"Actually, I didn't mind," He said almost…seductively? No. Jacob didn't feel that way about me. We were just friends. Or at least I thought so.

I knew I was blushing. He reached his index finger out to stroke my cheek. I was thankful that I was resting on the left side of my face. I knew that the little bit of make up that I had put on must've worn off by now, therefore giving a full view of my rotting blueberry. At least it wasn't as swelled.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me off guard.

"Huh?" I mumbled as if I didn't hear him.

"What were you thinking about to make you blush like that?" He asked again.

Of course I wasn't going to tell him the real reason why I had blushed so I settled with my blueberry story. "Oh, I was thinking about my rotting blueberry." I smirked when I saw his confused expression. His eyebrows always pulled together while his lips would pull up slightly. Then he would stare at whatever made him confused. Luckily I was the one who made him confused.

"Come again?" He said when I didn't say anything. He never failed to leave me dazzled by his face and the different expressions they held.

I looked away from him trying to clear my head. "That's the name I have given the horrendous bruise that has enveloped my face." I said lightly.

His confused expression still lingered. "I was thinking the other day about how my face looked a little like an enormous blueberry except it had black and purple splotches all over it. Then it reminded me of rotten blueberries." I raised up to let him see for himself. I pointed at it with one of my fingers. "Can you see the resemblance? I made a theory that the next thing it will look like is a rotting grape since bruises always fades to lighter colors. Then it will eventually look like a rotting green apple, then a rotting banana."

All of a sudden Jacob burst out laughing, his body shaking me along with the bed. He didn't stop for several minutes and I could see he tried to stop as if he were offending me, but it was actually rather adorable. He finally settled down and I could see tears falling from his face.

"It wasn't _that_ funny," I said amused.

"Yes, it was. Only you could come up with something like that," He chuckled as he looked at me. I smiled then wiped the tears away with my fingers. I didn't say anything as his face grew serious and his eyes locked with mine. His lips parted and I drew my fingers away from his face and looked away.

* * *

JPOV

I have never wanted to kiss someone so much in my life before this moment. Of course I could remember longing after Bella but this topped everything. Her fingers felt amazing against my cheeks and the way she stroked them softly made me shudder. I couldn't escape her green eyes as her own face changed from her amused expression into one of seriousness. I couldn't read that expression but as she continued, I caught a glimpse of her lips. They were a soft pink and were very plump. My lips parted at the thought of what they would feel like. She brought her hand back then and looked away, not really looking at anything particular. She had grown uncomfortable. Fortunately, Emily was cooking breakfast so I used it as an excuse to break the tension.

"I'll let you get ready. You must be hungry," I said quietly.

"Okay," She replied.

I got out of bed and opened her window. "Where are you going? Aren't you going to stay for breakfast?" She asked.

I gave her a crooked smile, "People might get the wrong idea if I got caught coming out of your bedroom door each morning."

"Your probably right," She said turning her face around so I couldn't see her bruise. I knew she felt ashamed of it, even when she was joking about it earlier. I walked over to her and turned her face toward me like I did last night. I took my thumb and traced the outline of the "rotting blue berry".

"Doesn't it disgust you?" She asked incredulous while frowning at me.

"Nothing about you disgusts me, Cora," I paused. I let my hand linger at her face and knew it was getting a little awkward. Well for her it was awkward. I was perfectly content. "I think it's sort of cute." I said lightly. I traced my thumb across it again to reassure her.

"Yeah, right," She snorted.

I let my hand drop. I looked for an excuse to spend the day with her again. "Did you still have questions for me?" I asked and her eyes lightened.

"Millions." She said eagerly.

I smiled. "I'm not answering any."

She glared at me and I could see her temper flare. "But you promised!" She said angrily. I knew she wanted to say more but I spoke before she could.

"Unless…"

She continued to glare at me. "Unless…what?"

I grinned evilly. "I get to take you through the forest. Werewolf style."

She huffed and looked at me for a second. "Fine. But that means I get to ask anything I want and you have to answer." She contemplated.

"Whatever makes you happy." I said then darted out her window blindingly fast.

I couldn't decide how much I was going to tell her. She needed to know about imprinting but I was afraid that I was pushing her too fast. I think the best thing that would be for her, and me, would let her ask all the questions and keep my big mouth shut.

I was almost home but I decided against it as I plunged into the forest and shrugged out of my clothes. I phased and left the clothes in a pile. I would come back for them later. I ran faster and faster until I reached the line that bordered our territory. I knew that I should probably stay close to home but I wanted to escape that place for a little while. So I ventured north and kept running full speed letting my excitement grow as I blazed past everything around me. I wanted to reach outside of Canada, that was my plan anyway. But I didn't even get thirty miles away from the Quileute borderline until I stopped dead in my tracks.

That scent…it was so familiar, yet I have never smelt it in particular before. The hairs rose from the back of my neck and down my spine without hesitation as a snarl escaped my mouth. It was a vampire. I knew that it could be any of the Cullen's because I was so close to their territory but this vampire was new and it wasn't far away.

I scanned the thick forest for the bloodsucker to appear but it didn't…at first. I was about to look for its smell so I could track it but I didn't need to. The smell grew very strong toward the east so I turned in that direction. That's when I saw it. This vampire walked cautiously toward me, never offering to change into a fighting stance. I kept growling and was about to attack but then I stopped.

The vampire was a woman with chocolate brown hair and a petite yet strong frame. Everything about her was so familiar except for her blood red eyes. She was remarkably beautiful too, something that vampire venom had to do with. But I knew who she was.

If I were human I know I would be saying "Bella?" but the only thing that came out of my mouth was a whimper/barking noise.

"Jacob?" Bella asked in an unrecognizable voice. It sounded like soft bells ringing. I nodded.

She looked nervous and I knew why. The last time I had spoken to her I promised that if she were changed that I wouldn't hesitate to bring the Cullen's down. At the time I blamed that promise on the treaty because they would be breaking it, but really, I just wanted to kill Edward for taking Bella away from me and turning her into a monster. Now I had no reason to want to harm anyone. I found what I really wanted and needed. Bella was still my friend and I always knew that, even though she would be turning into a vampire, nothing would change that. She would always be Bella, minus the clumsiness.

I didn't really know what to do at the moment. I had left my clothes back home so I couldn't really phase to tell her what I needed to. I also couldn't simply tell her to wait for a second until I went back and got them. Bella still looked tense as if debating whether she should be here or not. I got her to look at me and stuck my tongue out in attempt to make her see that I wasn't mad at her. It worked because she smiled. I crept toward her and grinned. I got an idea.

I took one of my razor sharp claws and started scribbling something in a near by tree. I decided on the message "I'll be right back." So I could quickly go and get my clothes before her family showed up.

I looked toward her and nodded my head toward the tree, beckoning her to look at it.

She gracefully strode next to me obviously not afraid anymore. She glanced at it and chuckled. "Clever." She said.

I smiled again and darted back toward home. I never would have thought that my reaction of Bella's immortality would be like this. I thought that I would be infuriated, heartbroken, and betrayed. But I didn't. I was actually _glad_ to see Bella again. Like seeing a long lost friend for the first time in years. I gathered my clothes in my mouth and ran back toward Bella. Before I got to close I phased and put my clothes back on. I ran back to her with a smile on my face. I could see Bella stiffen and then hold her nose. I knew that look. She was thirsty even though her eyes shown bright. I forgot that she was a newborn.

"Bella, are you ok?"

She gulped and closed her eyes. "I'm fine. I'm so sorry Jacob."

"That's ok. Things want to kill me all the time, I'm used to it." I said lightly.

She let go of her nose and started breathing through her mouth. She gave me a puzzled look. "Why aren't you mad at me? I thought you wanted to kill me for doing this." She said pointing to her body.

"I never really wanted to kill you Bella. Just Edward," I stated.

"Oh, that makes me feel a lot better Jake," She said sarcastically and a bit angrily. I knew that I had ticked her off by threatening Edward.

"Jeez, newborns are so testy," I teased.

She glared. "From what I remember werewolves are no better."

"Relax Bells. I'm not after Edward and the rest of your new family anymore," I said with a smile remembering why I wasn't.

"Why? The last time I saw you, you promised the demise of me and my family," She smirked. "Why the change of mind?"

"A lot's changed since then. It seemed like such a long time ago," I said putting my hands in my pocket.

Bella kept her distance from me but smiled. "Something's different about you. You're not telling me something."

I grinned and looked at the dirt that was covered with moss and dead trees. I stayed that way for a while wondering whether or not I should tell Bella about my imprint. I didn't really see why I shouldn't. It's not like anything bad could come from it. I looked up to Bella who hadn't frozen from her previous spot. Typical vampire.

"I imprinted."

Bella's eyebrows shot up. She seemed lost for words. She looked at me carefully then her eyes shone happily and she grinned. Before I knew it I was enclosed in a suffocating hug. I shivered out of instinct but I could easily control the outburst that my body wanted to take, but she really was suffocating me and she was ice cold.

"Bella…" I gasped.

She let go immediately and backed off. Her eye's looked hungry but I could tell she had it in control. I had to give her some credit. For a newborn she had a very strong will power. That's saying a lot for her kind.

"I'm sorry Jake. It's just that I thought if I ever saw you again you would still be so hurt. I've always wanted you to be happy," She said excitingly. "Who is she?"

"You're such a girl," I said jokingly. "Her name is Cora."

"How did you meet her?"

"She moved here almost a month ago from the Makah rez. I met her at Sam's place. Emily was friends with her sister," I said giving her the basic information.

"Does she know about…" She trailed.

"Yeah, actually I told her yesterday. She doesn't know about the whole imprinting issue," I said sadly.

Bella caught that. "Do you resent imprinting on her?" She asked.

"Not at all. I'm afraid that she will though," I bit my lip. I wanted to make Cora understand everything.

"How did she take it yesterday?" She asked curious.

"Surprisingly well," I said with a smirk.

"Did she take it better than me?" She chimed.

I smiled at her and raised my eyebrows. "Why? You're not jealous are you?"

"No. Just simply curious." She said defending herself.

"Whatever you say," I chuckled. "She didn't really believe me at first. I actually had to show her that I wasn't making the whole thing up."

Bella grinned like she had just won some sort of prize.

"That doesn't mean that you took it better than her." I said. "At least _she_ didn't think that I was out murdering the locals." I said laughing at the memory. Bella glared at me mockingly and stuck her tongue out. "Same old Bella," I murmured. "It looks like becoming a bloodsucker didn't change you after all."

"That's more than what you can say for yourself mutt," She laughed.

My senses wasn't as attuned but I could still smell that nasty scent of some other vampires coming this way. I couldn't really make out if it was any scent I recognized when I was in my human form. Bella smelt it to because her head was turned in the direction of the scent.

"Who is it Bella?" I asked not sure if I should phase or not.

"It's Edward and Alice. Alice must have seen my future turn black." She said smiling.

"Yeah I remember. Alice can't see my future."

"Or anyone else's that is entwined with yours." She stated. "Jacob, you might need to leave. Edward didn't really appreciate our former conversation we had when I was human." She warned.

"I think it's time I finally made peace with the bloodsucker. I don't have anything of his that I want to fight him over." I said with a smirk while glancing at Bella.

Bella smiled back at me. "I always knew that we could still be friends." She looked back toward the direction in which Edward and Alice would appear at in any second. "It looks like I get to keep my sun after all." She said turning back to look at me but obviously talking to someone else.

**So did you like it? I'm not sure how you all took the whole reuniting thing. But this was my plan so oh well. Sorry for the cliffie. I'll update as soon as I can. What do think should happen next? Reviews make me very happy...**


	19. One Step Forward Two Steps Back

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Thanks to all of my supporters!!! Love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing....**

18. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

JPOV

Edward strolled out of the trees with a hostile stance but had a confused expression. Behind him was Alice who gave me a wary glance. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't see the future right about now. It was making her edgy.

Edward went to Bella's side and grabbed her hand. Alice stayed a couple of feet away sensing the tense atmosphere."What do you think you're doing?" Edward asked me harshly.

Even though Edward could read my thoughts Bella answered before I could. "Don't worry, Edward. Everything is fine now." Bella said stroking his forehead as if to relax the muscles in it.

As I watched Bella comfort Edward I couldn't help but to think of Cora and how much I needed her, how much I loved her. Edward looked away from Bella then back to me. I smiled and simply shrugged. Edward shook his head and smirked.

"Werewolves," He mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "Vampires." I replied. "Always such know-it-alls. You knew this was going to happen didn't you?" I questioned.

"No, but I did hope though." Edward said finally relaxed.

"WHAT!?" Alice yelled. It sounded more like a chirp coming from her.

"So I'm not the only one who can't stand mind readers," I told Edward.

He looked at Alice and then back to me, "Apparently."

Alice glared at us in annoyance and put her hands on her hips. "Could someone please tell me what's going on? I can't see a thing!" She complained.

"Relax little bloodsucking pixie, I'll explain." Bella narrowed her eyes at my comment while I chuckled. "I have no intentions of harming your...family."

Alice looked at Bella than she eyed me suspiciously. "I don't understand."

"I imprinted," I said happily. Bella smiled wide at the sudden heat that I could feel coursing through my body.

"It's about time," Alice said relieved. "I thought for sure that you and Edward would rip each others throats out." I saw Bella flinch from her statement. I was glad that Bella still cared for me even though we both had obviously moved on. Edward was grinning at Bella. I bet he was glad to have me out of his hair.

"Correct," Edward replied to my thought.

"What?" Bella asked.

"Nothing love," He said while intertwining their fingers together.

I thought of my family and their imprints. I could only imagine how much it would break us to lose one another. I decided to settle this for good. I did not want to risk my family anymore. Neither did I want to cause the Cullens anymore worries. I knew now that this was the right thing to do from the beginning. I was just to blind to really allow myself to realize the truth. The Cullens were not bad. They were actually the all around good guys. Better than most people you would find now days.

"I think that we should call it a truce, Cullen," I said sticking my hand out to Edward.

"I would have to agree," He said gripping my hand. I shook from head to toe as his cold skin thrashed against my hand. I could hear Edward grinding his teeth. As soon as our hands met we immediately let go. My hand reeked of that sickeningly sweet scent that always burnt my nose and wrenched my stomach. My reaction was to wipe it off on my shorts but that would probably seem childish so I ignored the smell. Bella reminded me of a proud mother. She smiled in satisfaction.

"She's all yours," I told Edward.

"Thank you Jacob, but she still would be without your permission you know." He said.

"I know that," I didn't care anymore. It then hit me that I was supposed to be meeting Cora soon.

"We'd better be going too," Edward said reading my thoughts. He looked toward Alice and chuckled. She looked away from him with an irritated expression.

"Will I be able to see you again soon?" Bella asked me.

"Sure, why not Bells?" I told her. She grinned at me.

"This is how I always wanted it to be. I knew this would all work out," She repeated as if to rub it in mine and Edward's face.

Edward and Bella raced off into the trees. Alice still stood looking at me with a unpleasant look in her eyes. She skipped fluently over to me and placed a small kiss on my cheek. I immediately cringed away both shocked and uncomfortable.

"Yuck! You smell horribly bad. Has anyone ever told you that?" She said holding her nose.

"Actually, I think you have before, Alice." I reminded her.

She giggled, "Oh, yeah, I did."

"You know you didn't have to do that," I told her. "I already know that you are grateful toward me for giving Bella my blessing to live happily ever after now."

"I didn't kiss you out of gratitude," Alice said rolling her eyes. "I actually did it because I lost a bet."

I could hear Edward's roaring laughter a couple of miles away. Alice glared in that direction. "What bet?"

"Emmett bet that you and Edward would eventually 'make up' and stop fighting over Bella. I, on the other hand, figured that you would kill each other first. Emmett told me that if he won that I would have to kiss you."

I chuckled at the fact that Emmett actually won a bet against Alice. "So what would happen if you had won?"

Alice grinned, "You don't want to know." She said with an evil tone.

"Never mind then" I said holding my hands up.

Alice closed her eyes, then opened them again. "Even though I can't see your future Jacob, everything will be just fine." She said with a knowing look.

"How do you know?" I asked astonished.

"I can feel it." She said simply, then ran gracefully away leaving me with a sense of hope. I had my best friend back and could possibly gain more friendship from the Cullens. Bella was still holding onto me as her friend. The others would honor that and welcome me along with their new addition to their family. I could count on that. But as I raced back home with my clothes in my mouth none of that could matter right now.

JPOV

"Ready to go?" I asked Cora as she stood in front of me in the entrance of Sam's home. I had taken a shower as soon as I had gotten home that afternoon. I could still smell the faint scent of vampire on me but it wasn't as bad as before. Sam could smell it to from across the living room. He knew that smell inside out. I could tell he knew it was one of the Cullens. It was actually three Cullens but I would save that story for later.

Cora bit down on her lip and tugged at her long sleeved shirt. She let out a deep breath. "I'm not so sure." She said with a worried glance toward the thick trees.

"I won't let you get hurt I promise," I said amused.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." She told me flatly.

I took her hand and squeezed it to comfort her a little. I loved how my whole hand covered hers completely. "Come on, a deals a deal," I pulled her from the door and shut it behind her. I never let go of her hand.

She was still staring at the trees debating how much more she really wanted to know. "Fine," she grumbled.

I smiled excited that I would be able to take her through the forest and maybe show off a little. I wanted her to feel that same sense of freedom as I run through the forest. I led her down the stairs and to the edge of the thick forest parallel from the beach.

"Wait here," I said letting go of her hand and placing mine on her shoulders. "You won't run away will you?" I asked teasingly but also meaning it at the same time.

"If I did you would just outrun me now wouldn't you?" She said with a smile that showed how nervous she really was.

"Smart girl," I said lightly and then patted her head. I ran into some thick underbrush and pulled off my clothes. I began to run back to her and then phased, feeling the fire rolling down my spine. I could hear her heartbeat from a couple of yards away. It was faster than normal. I stepped into her view but her heartbeat didn't accelerate. She wasn't afraid of me but what I she was getting ready to do. I took that as a good sign.

She tried to cover up her tension by being funny. Or at least she thought she was being funny. As soon as she saw me she held her hand out and starting whistle. "Come here, boy. Come on, doggie," she said laughing. I trotted over to her and wagged my tail playing along. Her hand met my face but I pushed it aside and licked her across the face.

"Ugh! That is NOT funny Jake! Eww, you got slobber all over my face! That is seriously getting old," she complained.

I laughed at her appearance. Her face was soaked and she had a hard time getting the wet residue off. I held out my paw so she could wipe her face off.

"Stupid dog," she muttered. That made me laugh even louder as she rubbed her face against my paw. "Let's get this over with," she said irritated.

I got down on my stomach so she could climb on. I walked slowly into the forest letting her get used to it. When we were far enough away I let out a howl that shook the trees around me then starting running as fast as I could. I could feel her grip tighten and her breaths become faster but she didn't feel as tense as she was yesterday. I guessed that she was probably closing her eyes. I increased my speed and headed in the direction that I took yesterday. For some reason that place that I brought Cora to tell her my secret seemed sort of special. Like it was our own little part of the world.

I could hear no thoughts from my pack members. This seemed odd to me, the eerie silence. Usually there was always someone on patrol. We finally made it to the beach and the cliffs that sat off to the left. At night they looked almost like a mountain, shadowed by the darkness that the night gave. Cora didn't get off. I wiggled a little to get her attention. I could feel her head lift out of my shoulder then she let go of my fur. A couple of seconds later she slid off my back. I leapt back into the trees and quickly put my clothes on. When I came back to her she was standing near the ocean, the waves washing up to her ankles.

She didn't hear me come back as I walked up next to her. "It's unusually warm today." Cora said looking at the ocean.

"It will be for a couple of days, but I feel a storm coming on afterwards," I said sensing the air around me.

"Is that a werewolf thing?" She asked with smile.

"What?"

"Predicting the weather." She said.

"Sort of. I can feel the atmosphere around me. My senses are very sharp, much more sharper than a human's. It's not that hard to decipher if you know what you are feeling." I explained.

"What do you mean 'feeling'?"

"You know, the pressure, temperature, the humidity. It's none of the hocus pocus jumbo that comes with being a werewolf. It's purely natural." I said to her.

"So other animals can sense these types of things too?" She continued.

"Pretty much."

She looked back out across the ocean nodding her head. "Neat," she said.

I laughed at the fact that she was trying to be casual. "Did you enjoy the ride?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"It wasn't so bad," she said shrugging.

"Right…" I said sarcastically.

"Ok, I admit I may have closed my eyes the whole way, but it is an improvement from the first time," she said defending herself.

"Sure, sure…" I replied.

Cora walked to the rock that was half buried in the sand and sat down facing the ocean. I followed behind her and sat on the sand with my head resting against the rock. "I don't really know where to start," she said.

"There's a lot of ground to cover but we have time," I told her as we both relaxed.

"So...besides running insanely fast, being ridiculously strong, and predicting the weather, what else can you do?" She asked.

"Well, those of us who can turn into werewolves are considered as a pack. We rely on each other and we are connected in a way that defies your average animal abilities." Cora looked down at me with an eyebrow raised. "This may seem crazy but when we are wolves we can hear each other thoughts. It's sort of like mind-reading."

"Really?" She said amazed.

"Yep," I thought that part might of freaked her out but she looked intrigued.

"That's amazing," she added.

"Not really. Sure, it's cool and everything but it can be so embarrassing. Everyone can see all of your deepest thoughts. There are no secrets in a pack," I said dully.

"I can see your point," She said biting her lip. She reached out and touched my cheek. Her touch startled me but I didn't flinch away like I had done with Alice. Instead, I locked my gaze with hers not knowing what she was doing.

For a minute she didn't say anything but continued to feel my cheek. "Is this a werewolf thing?" She asked. My heart stopped for a second.

"Hmmm?" I replied unable to speak.

She smiled widely then pressed her palm against my face. "The warmth. Is it because your a werewolf?"

The feeling of her hand against my face was almost unbearable, but I didn't want her to pull it away. "Yes," I finally answered.

To my misfortune she pulled her hand back and put it on her knee. I stared at it as if I could force it to come back to my cheek. "Why is that?" Cora said almost to herself.

"To be honest I don't really know. I guess we are 'hotter' than normal so we can keep warm," I said thoughtfully.

"Makes sense," she said chuckling. "How much 'hotter' are you than me?"

I grinned at the weirdness that question had toward it. She must have noticed it too because she slapped me on the side of the head. "I didn't mean it like that," she said rolling her eyes.

I chuckled, "I guess I am about ten degrees hotter than you." I said smirking.

"Show off," She grumbled.

"Well, that means that you are cooler than me," I teased.

"You're so lame. Did you think of that all by yourself?"

"Sure did."

"So, how do you become a werewolf?" Cora asked changing the subject.

"It's like a birth right. The whole werewolf gene is in our blood. We are born with it," I said bitterly.

"Oh," she responded, "I remember you saying that Leah was one of you. Is she the only girl?"

"In matter of fact she's the only girl to have ever been able to inherit the whole werewolf thing," I told her.

"She resents it doesn't she?" She said as more of a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah, she really does. Some of the others do too, but not like Leah. She hates being what we are."

Cora didn't say anything but looked at me to continue. "You know how Leah and Sam used to be together?"

"Yeah."

"When Sam changed and found out what he was the elders forbid him to tell anyone, including Leah, but that didn't bother her because she loved Sam and Sam loved her…but then something happened." I paused.

"What happened?"

I drew a deep breath. It looked like I was going to have to tell Cora about imprinting sooner rather than later. I could feel my heart racing. "Sam met Emily." I said as if that should have explained everything but of course it didn't.

"What do you mean? Did Sam cheat on Leah?!" Cora exclaimed.

"No, nothing like that happened." I said trying to keep her from jumping to conclusions. I let out a deep breath. "There is this thing called imprinting." Cora was about to say something but I put my hand over her mouth, "Patience, okay? I'll explain."

Cora shut her mouth closed and waited for me to continue. "First of all, you have to keep in mind that Sam really loved Leah, but as soon as he saw Emily he imprinted on her." Cora's eyebrows were raised like they always did when she was confused. I looked for the words to continue. "Imprinting is something like love at first sight except it goes way beyond that. Whenever Sam saw Emily, it was like all these things that tied him to the world -- his family, friends, and even Leah, seemed to just disappear. The only thing that held him was Emily. Nothing was more important than her. So even though he was in love with Leah, it didn't matter anymore."

"That is so hard to understand. I thought that there was nothing greater than love. How could that simply not matter anymore?" Cora asked, seriousness consumed her features.

"I guess he found a new love." I paused letting that sink in. "Imprinting _is _love, only it is amplified. Sam is whatever Emily needs him to be. Not because he has to but because he wants to."

"So Sam never really had a choice?" She asked.

"Pretty much but that is a good thing."

"How is that a good thing?" She questioned.

"Emily is Sam's soul mate, both of them belong together. We believe that eventually they would have ended up together anyways. The whole imprinting thing just makes it easier to find the person you belong with."

"And what about Emily? Does she have a say in it?"

"Of course. Emily had the choice all along. In fact when Sam told her about everything she was furious at him for breaking Leah's heart. They were very close when they were little." I said remembering Leah's bitter pain and anger. "That's how Emily got her scars."

"From Sam?! How could he?!" She shouted angrily.

"Sam wanted to literally kill himself for doing that to her. He would've walked out in front of a bus going fifty down a high way if he knew that would have hurt him. In the end, Emily was the one comforting Sam. Like I said, Emily had the choice but she found that she couldn't stay away from him. She didn't want to be without the guy. I guess you could say imprinting can work both ways. Eventually she was just as much in love with him than he was in love with her."

"Emily is happy?" She questioned.

"Yes, all of the imprints are."

"There are more imprints?"

"You know Kim and my sister Rachel?" I asked knowing that she remembered.

"Jared imprinted on Kim and Paul imprinted on Rachel, right?" She asked.

"Exactly," I stated.

"Do you remember Claire, Emily's niece?" I wondered if I should tell her this but she would probably find out anyway.

"The one Quil watches all the time." She recalled.

"Yep." I waited to see if she would figure it out.

"Wait a second…little Claire? Quil...how could he?"

"It's not like he is _in _love with her. He does love her just only as a big brother." Her face was a little horrified. "As she gets older he'll eventually become her best friend. Then when the time comes, he will fall in love with her and vice versa."

"Oh, I see," she whispered. "But still that is sort of creepy."

"You will see otherwise if you spent some time with the two of them. It's not at all what you think. I kind of feel sorry for Quil. That little girl can torture him all day long and Quil would never grow tired of it."

"That is sweet. Poor Quil, he has to wait all this time for her." She said sympathetically.

"Actually, that's not a problem." I said hoping to change the subject.

"How?"

"We don't age. Well, we can but only if we can refrain from phasing."

"Wow. So is that all of the amazing things you can do or is there even more?" She said with a smile.

"That's not even the half of it." I said putting my arms behind my head.

Cora looked at the ocean for a second. "I've got an idea. How about we save the other half for tomorrow? I just found something fun to do." She said excitingly.

I looked down then back up to meet her eyes, "Cora, there is something I need to tell you..."

**Leave reviews plz...what do you think is going to happen?**


	20. Sunset

**Author's Note: I had so much fun writing this chapter. Once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed and a special thank you to my beta-reader for fixing my continuation errors. I hope that I didn't completely mess this up. **

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

19. Sunset

JPOV

_Cora looked at the ocean for a second. "I've got an idea. How about we save the other half for tomorrow? I just found something fun to do," she said excitedly._

_I looked down then back up to meet her eyes, "Cora, there is something I need to tell you..."_

"Save it for later," she said while pulling me up to my feet.

"But..." I tried again.

"Come on!" She said excitedly as she pulled me toward the ocean.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

She stopped me when the water was up to my knees. "Okay, now stand still and close your eyes."

"Why?"

"You'll see." She said with a grin.

I looked down at her, the wind blowing slightly across her face causing her hair to whip around her forehead. I pushed the strand behind her ear, "I don't trust you." I said with a smile.

"Why not? I trust you!" She said pouting.

I knew she would use that, "Touché."

"Jake, you have to close your eyes or it won't work," she said sternly.

"Fine," I said closing my eyes. "What exactly is supposed to happen?" I could hear her walking behind me.

"Just relax," she instructed me.

I knew she was up to something but I did what she told me. I breathed in and out deeply, catching the scent of the salt water below me. I could also smell Cora; she was the light citrus fragrance that came from behind me. I could identify that smell anywhere. It was a mixture of oranges and peaches; so sweet. I wondered how that would smell to a vampire. I clenched my jaw reminding myself to relax. Suddenly, her smell drifted farther and farther away.

* * *

CPOV

I watched Jacob as I slowly walked away from him. A smile was plastered across my face as I thought about what I was getting ready to do. He was so beautiful standing as still as he could in the water. The sun was sinking lower and lower though it was far from getting dark. It made the sky look warm, comfortable. It shone on Jacob and made his dark skin almost glow. His short black hair moved gently with the wind. I wondered what someone else would think of him if they happened to pass by. Would they be this mesmerized?

I was about to make my move but then hesitated. He was so large. I wouldn't have a chance against him. But I knew that I had to try anyway.

"Cora?" He asked.

"Yes?" I replied playfully.

"What are you doing?"

I didn't answer him. I waited for a moment and then decided to act before he gave up and turned around. I began to run as fast as I could into the water hoping I would be fast enough to reach him before he realized what I was doing. When I got close enough I jumped as hard as I could toward Jacob knowing that it would take a lot to bring him down.

Fortunately, he was surprised and that threw him off balance as we both crashed into the water, my arms wrapped tightly around Jacob's neck. We weren't underwater long before we both came back up to breathe. Jacob's eyes were wide when he looked at me.

"I knew you were up to something," He said laughing. My arms were still around him.

"It's about time I got you back. Did you honestly think that you could get away with scaring the crap out of me all the time?" I said laughing with him.

"No, but I can always get even," he smirked. I unwound my arms from around him and tried to push myself away but he grabbed me before I moved an inch.

"Oh no you don't," he said smiling. Then he dragged me out toward the deeper water still keeping me close to him. "I would hold my breath if I were you," he told me as he plunged us both underwater. I was still desperately trying to break away from him but I knew it was no use. So, I just clung to him, not opening my eyes and holding my breath. When he brought us back up to the surface I gasped for air. He finally let go of me and I started to swim back towards the shallow water.

When I was swimming, I realized how cold the water actually was. With Jacob I felt so warm that I thought the water was as well. I almost instinctively turned back so he could hold me again but decided against it. That would definitely destroy my pride that I had earned earlier for finally getting him back.

Once I was closer to the shore I laid back on the water and floated, occasionally making sure I wasn't drifting out toward the ocean. I closed my eyes and felt the faint warmth of the sun against my face. I smiled at how easy everything was now. Even through all the chaos that had been going on Jacob was still my best friend. I couldn't have been any happier.

"What are you doing?" A low voice came from beside me.

"Thinking about you," I said without opening my eyes.

He didn't answer me so I looked up at him. He was sitting beside where I was floating. His face was a little stunned but was warm. I never thought that I could leave Jacob Black speechless. I sat up next to him and watched as he fought for words. I could feel the smirk forming on my face.

Jacob looked away from me and then out toward the ocean. I just stared at him and for once didn't care if he caught me doing it. Water was rolling down the side of his face from his wet black hair. His white t-shirt clung to him, showing every muscle that moved along his chest and arms. I scooted closer to him and laid my head against his arm. The scorching heat from his arm felt good against my cool cheek. I sighed, a little too loudly.

"Comfortable?" He asked teasingly.

I felt my cheeks turn red as I smiled. He put his arms around me and played with a strand of wet hair that was hanging from my shoulder. "Have you ever been in love with someone, besides that one jerk?" Jacob asked suddenly.

"Maybe," I replied feeling a little urge of guilt.

"Won't you tell me?" He asked persuasively.

"One day I guess," I said lightly.

"Okay," he whispered giving up on the subject.

I don't know how long we sat like that. We watched the sun go down until half of it was no longer visible against the ocean. It turned the water around us an orange-red; the eastern part of the sky was turning a deep purple. "It's getting late," Jacob said softly but we were both unwilling to move. Jacob looked down at me as he was cradling me in his arms.

"I don't won't to leave. It's so beautiful," I said gesturing toward the sky.

Jacob stroked my cheek. "Ah, that's nothing compared to you," he said sweetly. I looked at him amazed that he would think I was pretty at all, let alone beautiful.

"You're just saying that because you're my friend," I told him. Before he could say anything else I hopped up. The wind blew softly against my wet body making me shiver. I walked toward the beach and let my feet sink in the sand. Jacob was walking toward me with a serious look on his face. I didn't like those looks. It usually meant that he needed to tell me something he didn't want to. Today had been so special, so right. I didn't want the slightest detail to ruin that.

"I bet I can beat you," I said competitively.

It worked. Jacob smirked and shook his head. "Whatever it is I highly doubt it," he snorted.

"We'll just have to see about that," I said trying to egg him on.

"What's the challenge?" he asked amused.

I looked down the beach at the soft sand. No obstacles stuck out from it as far as I could see. Just a couple of rocks but nothing that couldn't be avoided. "How about a bet?" I offered. "I bet that if I started running down the beach you wouldn't be able to catch me."

Jacob laughed loudly. "It's completely impossible for you to win. Even if I only jogged I could still catch you. Sometimes I think that you forget that I am a werewolf."

"That's why you are going to give me a head start," I said with a smile.

"What happens if I win?" He asked.

"Whichever one of us wins the bet then the other would be obligated to do whatever the other one tells them to do whenever they wanted to do it. No buts," I told him.

"No matter what it is?" he asked.

"Yep," I said popping the 'p' like Jake did sometimes.

"This is to easy," he almost bragged. "How much of a head start do you want?"

"Ten seconds. And I have to reach the first log to the right."

"It would probably take around ten seconds to reach that log," he complained.

"I might trip," I added. I knew that I could probably reach the log within at least twelve seconds. Could it be possible for him to run that far in two?

Jacob grinned. "You're on," he challenged.

I drew a line in the sand in front of me and Jake. As we both got behind it I started counting. "On the count of three. One...two...three!" I exclaimed as I raced down the beach as fast as I could go. I counted in my head the seconds it took before Jacob would come after me. When I reached ten I smiled to myself because I was only a yard or two away from the log. But then all of a sudden something hot ran into to me and jerked my body around so I landed on my back. I immediately started giggling even though I knew I had lost. Jacob was still on top of me as he stretched his hand forth to run his fingers down the side of my face,

"Are you alright?" He asked softly. His face was only inches from mine. I was only able to barely nod because I couldn't form any words. His eyes were so beautiful as they looked into mine not saying anything but showing me something I had never recognized before. I couldn't describe it. My whole body felt as if it were on fire at the moment but I didn't care. I actually enjoyed the sensation it caused me.

At times like these I would get uncomfortable and look away thinking that nothing good would happen if I just gave in, but right now I wanted it more than ever. Jacob's hand froze on my face as I placed mine against his. As if he could read my mind he slowly bent his head down further to mine. He barely moved as he inched his way toward my lips, hesitating as if I would suddenly change my mind. But I knew that I wouldn't be able to even if I wanted.

My heart beat erratically; I knew that Jacob could probably hear it. I couldn't wait any longer. I tilted my head so that we didn't have any more room between us. His lips brushed against mine so softly. He parted both of our lips as they moved slowly together.

Jacob was the one to pull away. He looked down at me still not moving from his position over top me. His eyes were mixed with joy and fear. I wanted to ask him what was wrong. I wanted to know why he was so worried because I have never felt more complete in my life. I was too afraid to ask him though. He didn't move at all for a moment, he just watched me as his breathing turned to normal. Finally, he spoke.

"Cora, I tried to telling you this earlier," he said a little sad.

I could feel my heart start ripping in two. Tears filled my eyes as I imagined the different possible ways that he could reject me.

He leaned down and whispered into my ear, "I'm in love with you."

My heart must have stopped because I couldn't comprehend the course of some wonderful feeling that went through me. The tears that had formed in my eyes spilled over except this time they were from pure joy. Jacob tilted his head back up to look at me as his expression became more sad. He must have taken the whole crying thing as a bad sign. I smiled, no, grinned up at him widely. He looked at me sort of confused so I decided to clear it up for him.

I didn't bother to whisper in his ear. "Remember when you asked me if I had ever been in love with someone else besides Logan?" Jacob shook his head yes. "Well, the answer is yes. I have been and am in love with someone else. It's you, Jake."

Jacob still didn't seem to register that so I decided to be more blunt. "I'm in love with you too, Jacob Black."

Jacob suddenly smiled, his perfect white teeth glistening. Happiness over took his features. "You love me?" He questioned as if I hadn't really said so.

"Yes, I really do, with all of my heart."

Jacob kissed me again but this kiss didn't last very long. He couldn't keep from smiling and neither could I. He got off of me after our subtle kiss. He helped me up off the ground and I noticed that his face turned serious again. "Wait a minute. I'm doing this all wrong. Cora, I need to tell you something first. I should have done it before I ever said anything."

I grew nervous. "What is it Jake?"

"Cora...I'm so very sorry for not telling you this before. If you decide to change your mind I wouldn't blame you at all." Jacob said taking my hand. I didn't know what else to say so I waited for him to tell me.

"I..." Jacob looked down biting his lip. "I imprinted on you Cora."

My jaw hung wide open as I let that sink in. I could still hear Jacob ramble on. "The first time I ever laid eyes on you that night when you first came here, well that was it. I had fallen in love with you without a doubt in my mind. I couldn't be without you Cora." I still said nothing. "But that doesn't mean that you _have _to be with me. That's up to you. Whatever you decide I'll go along with it. Whatever makes you happy, that's all that matters, but no matter what I will always love you."

I knew that a part of me wanted to be furious at Jacob for keeping this from me. A part of me should be opposed to the idea of someone imprinting on me. A couple of hours ago I had been repulsed by the very idea of it. It made me think that what imprints felt with each other wasn't really love. I imagined it to be some weird unnatural attraction that the two imprints felt for each other. But after tonight, after seeing the look in Jacob's eyes before he kissed me I knew that whatever imprinting was, it had to be love. Possibly something more than love.

I thought that I had been in love before I met Jacob, but after being with him I doubted that I ever really had. What I felt now was something much stronger. I was deeply in love with Jacob. I knew that I always would be, and that made me happy. So I wouldn't have to think about it anymore. My decision was already made. The only thing in my life that I wanted was Jacob Black. That wasn't going to change no matter what happened as long as we were together.

I shrugged my shoulders. "So, I guess this means we're stuck with each other for life," I said teasing him.

"Yeah, guess so," he said as if he were bored.

Jacob grinned then swept me up in his arms and starting spinning around, both of us were laughing. I would have never thought that I would be able to have someone like Jacob. My life was usually haunted by unhappy endings that left me and the ones I loved broken.

Somehow, I knew that things would be different this time. Or at least I strongly hoped for it. I hadn't been at La Push long and already I had a family with Sam, Emily, Paul, Rachel, Kim, Jared, Embry, Quil, Claire, Leah, Seth, Collin, and Brady. Not including the other people that was involved with their lives. Such as Old Quil, Billy, and Sue. Not only had I gained the most wonderful family I could have ever hoped for, I also gained a best friend and the love of my life.

Earlier today while watching the sunset with Jacob I had thought to myself that I couldn't be any more happier.

It looks like I was wrong.

**:D So there you have it. The moment you all have beem waiting for. What do you think? Plz review!**


	21. Something On the Horizon

**A/N: I'm back! Most of you thought that this was going to be the end but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I know this is badly delayed and I'm so sorry. Another idea popped into my head so the story goes on! I know that this is such a short chapter but it has it's reasons. I wanted to make it longer but then I felt like I would combining two chapters. I don't like doing that, it's just a quirk I guess. Even though it is incredibly short, I still hope you enjoy it. Forgive me for my lack of lengthiness. (If that's even a word.)**

20. Something on the Horizon

JPOV

"Jacob." A familiar voice rang from behind me. I knew that she was coming, I could smell her from a distance. She didn't come alone but I had expected that.

I had received an unusual call from her today. She wanted to meet me away from La Push territory so we could talk but she wouldn't go into further details. This made me very anxious. She also wanted the whole pack to be present. Something was off, but I couldn't figure out what it could be. I knew that Cora was safe because I had just been with her to make sure she was alright. The thought's of my pack blurred from my mind as I turned around to face them.

"_Could you please tell me what's going on here?"_ I asked Bella but I knew that Edward had to translate for me since Bella couldn't understand _dog_. As I had assumed, Bella was flanked by both Alice and Edward but also Jasper tagged along.

"I think Alice should explain." Edward gestured to the smallest vampire. Even though she did reek Alice was very friendly. She reminded me a lot of Seth even though it hadn't always been that way from the beginning. When she came back to check on Bella - after Edward left her so she could be 'normal'- we were both completely disgusted with one another. Now she was almost unbearable _nice_.

"Through with your reverie?" Edward asked almost amused.

"_Don't let it get to your head." _I thought. I could hear Seth's approval. I know that he has been eager for us to befriend the Cullen's ever since that first battle against the newborn army. The day him and Edward joined forces.

"_That was sweet." _Seth said recalling that day. Edward smiled toward with a knowing look.

"_I have got to stop hanging around you kid." _I told Seth.

"_Hey! What did I do?" _

I ignored him and looked at the pixie. _"Let's get to the point here. What's going on?" _I asked Edward.

Edward nodded to Alice for her to explain. "We came to warn you." She began. The whole pack synchronized in focus as she got their attention. "I had a vision that may or may not cause a threat to us. It was my top priority to let you know about this because in some way or another you are involved."

"_What does she mean?" _Sam asked.

"I think you need to explain a little more throughly Alice." Edward suggested.

Alice rolled her eyes. "I was getting to that." She paused. "In my vision I saw a vampire coming. I don't know who he is or why he is coming. All I know is that he is a male with black hair and all the other features you see common with a vampire. Also, from what I saw of him he had red eyes." She said it as if it were a sin.

Sam spoke to Edward again. _"I know that it would be good for this information to be given to us as a precaution. But why would it be your top priority to tell us?"_

Edward looked to Alice. Apparently Alice had already seen what Edward was going to ask so she went ahead and answered the question. "When I saw the vision it lasted long enough for me to see who it was. But then it went black. It was like his future just disappeared. There is only one reason why that would happen." Alice trailed letting us take that in.

"_It's because the bloodsucker's future is intertwined with a werewolves. Our future." _I thought mostly to myself.

"Exactly." Edward agreed.

Bella looked from me to Edward, frustrated that she wasn't in on the unspoken conversation. A growl erupted from the pack as the thought of a possible threat seemed to approach. The male blond, Jasper, made use of his gift as he sent out waves of calm. I wondered if he realized that this just made us even more irritated, though we couldn't do anything about it. You could probably watch someone being murdered and if Jasper wanted you to be happy about it then there wasn't much you could do.

What surprised me the most was that no one was eager for the bloodsucker to come. Most of the time, this kind of news would get everyone pumped. I think that I wasn't the only one who sensed something bad. I knew it was just a feeling, but something didn't seem right.

"_When?" _I asked Edward.

"According to her a vision it would be no less than three days." He said to me.

"_She has a bad feeling to." _I said more like a statement than a question.

"Yes." He replied.

Bella could see the anxiety that was starting to overcome me. She knew me all to well.

"Don't worry Jacob." She said coming close to me so she could place her hand against my shoulder. "We've had worse." She said smiling. I'm surprised she could reach my shoulder. I gave her a forced smile trying to make her feel better at least.

I tried changing the subject. _"So where's the doc?" _

"Hunting with Esme." Edward smirked. "Or so he says." He added. Jasper grinned widely at his comment.

"Boys." Alice muttered. Bella looked almost mortified as she cringed. I knew that if she were human she would be blushing right now. The pack tried to keep their thoughts clean for the sake of the younger ones. I felt bad for those guys especially when Paul is with them. He can be the most vulgar when it comes to stuff like that.

"_Like you're such a saint Jakey."_ Paul laughed while bringing up a couple of thoughts I've had. I growled at him and thought of me kicking his butt when he least expected it._ "OOo. I'm so scared."_

"_Now is not the time Paul."_ I said annoyed.

"_Tell us if you find out anything else."_ Sam said with a grateful tone.

"We will." Edward answered.

"_Thank you." _Sam said sincerely.

"_Yeah, we owe you guys big time." _Seth said enthusiastically.

"Don't worry about it. You have already done so much for me. None you owe us anything." Edward said while taking Bella's hand.

I could hear Leah scoffing. _"Leave already." _She thought to herself but also hoping that Edward would hear.

"_Ignore her." _I said with an evil grin in Leah's direction. _"Everyone else does." _

"Will do." Edward said. Leah gave him a growl.

Sam was already making plans for this new arrival. _"Everyone is on duty today. Go in groups and surround the territory. We want to give this guy a warning. We will have the entire perimeter watched. Nothing gets by. Everyone understand?"_

There was a chorus of _"Yes sir." _Some being more sarcastic than others. Everyone was then splitting up in groups.

"_I guess I'll be seeing you guys around." _I said.

"That doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing." Edward said looking toward Bella.

"_Hey Jake you're in our group." _Quil said standing beside of Embry.

"_Roger that." _I told them. _"Tell Bella that said goodbye." _I instructed Edward. _"I would do it myself but I didn't bring extra clothes." _

"Jacob wanted to say goodbye." He told Bella. Bella smiled and then hugged me awkwardly. I couldn't help holding my breath.

"See ya later Jake." She said releasing me.

"_Let's go bro." _Quil said.

"_Race ya!" _I shouted as I flew past them.

"_That's not fair. You got a head start." _Quil complained.

"_Who cares I can still beat him." _Embry said gaining on me.

"_So immature."_ Leah thought.

Leah was probably right but I would do anything to get that strange feeling to leave my mind.

**Plz review. Like I said, it was short. Think of it like the intro to the next chapter. This story is coming to a close soon. I'm sad. :( But hey, we still got some more action ahead.**


	22. Vampires

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is so short, you know how it is with school and life. Next chapter will be much longer but for now, all I have for you is this filler and I hate that. Hope you enjoy!**

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21. Vampires

CPOV

"Why are you so happy this morning?" Emily asked suspiciously, a smile playing at her lips.

I walked past her fluidly. Wait a second...when have I ever walked fluidly...and in the morning? I transformed my pose to a more inconspicuous trudge as I sat down at the table.

"What makes you think I'm happy?" I asked innocently, secretly wondering if she would buy it.

Emily chuckled and looked at me, "Because you have a smile that has been plastered to your face since yesterday evening."

"What are you talking about?" Had I really been smiling that much? I reached up to touch my mouth. Oh crap! I was smiling. I tried masking it but found that difficult to do. Ever since yesterday when Jake told me he loved me all I felt was joy. Especially since we know for a fact that we really do belong together. I couldn't make the stupid smile stop! Any minute now Emily would bombard me with questions.

"Spill it," Emily said eagerly while sitting down a BLT in front of me.

"Spill what?" I asked trying to use my confused face. I knew it didn't work as I checked to see if the smile was there. Yep, still completely intact.

She glared at me for not sharing with her my secret voluntarily. Might as well tell her. I'm sure everyone else knows by now thanks to Jacob's wolf mind reading thing. I dropped my attempt to get rid of my smile and it came back full force as a giant grin.

"You remember when you kept telling me that Jacob had a thing for me?" I said giving her a trail to follow by. Emily's eye's grew wide and then suddenly she was smiling too. She didn't say anything though. I guess she wanted me to tell her the story. I wasn't going to go into any details. "Well, I have been having those same kind of feelings for him for a while now. Yesterday Jacob told me that he loved me and also that I'm his imprint."

"He already told you that?" She exclaimed rather loudly. "I figured he would never get the nerve to tell you. I thought he would've taken years to finally give in and confess." She said in disbelief. "Wow," she whispered softly. Her expression suddenly became excited again, "What did you say back?" she asked.

I looked down at my hands and smiled to myself, "That I love him too."

Emily let out a girlish squeal. It reminded me of those movies you watch when a teenage girl gets excited over finally getting noticed by her crush. I suppose this was sort of the same. I laughed to myself.

"What about the imprinting? Did he tell you the story?" she asked wondering why I seemed so at ease with the idea of it this soon.

"Yes, Jacob explained everything," I told her.

"And...you're okay with that?" she questioned.

"Absolutely. I love Jacob more than anything. I have never been so happy in my life," I assured her.

Emily jumped up and hugged me around the neck, "You are officially a part of the family! You always have been."

"Emily, are you crying?" I asked looking at her red puffy eyes when she finally released me.

"I'm just so happy for you," She sniffed wiping her eyes.

I felt a little awkward. I know I'm not one to say anything considering my past history with tears, but it made me really uncomfortable seeing people cry. "I have my mother to thank for that," I thought grudgingly.

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He had been gone all day. I knew that he was on another _mission_, but Sam didn't need him for the entire day. In fact, everyone was gone! I asked Emily what was going on though I wished I hadn't. She became more worried than I was at the peculiar situation. We both walked around miserably doing nothing but wait. It wasn't until the sun finally made its last glimpse across the water till we heard Sam come slowly through the door, Jacob following close behind.

I couldn't help but to run and embrace him. Jacob returned the hug but it was rather weak. I looked up at his face and gasped, my forehead forming a crease through it as I took in his weary appearance.

Jacob's eyes were bloodshot with bags forming underneath them. He was slightly hunched over barely dragging himself along. Jacob was the true definition of a dead man walking.

"What happened? What's wrong?" I asked worried while placing a hand on the side of Jacob's face. Jacob yawned looking very incoherent so I pulled him toward the couch. I sat down while he decided to put his head in my lap and lay across the couch, his feet dangling off the end.

"Just taking...extra precautions." He yawned again.

"Why?" I asked smoothing his hair. It felt like it hadn't been brushed in months. Of course blazing through the forest at tremendous speeds would probably do the job.

"We're expecting a visitor," He said a little sharply.

I sighed a heavy breath. I wish he could just explain already. "What kind of visitor?"

"One that sucks blood," He replied obviously angered.

"Oh," Jacob hadn't really explained the vampire thing yet, though I knew it was their mortal enemy. I decided not to ask anymore questions so I could let Jacob rest.

Jacob waited to see if I had a response to that. I knew he didn't want to frighten me but he believed that I should know these things. I didn't allow myself to be afraid. I would be strong for him even though the idea of a blood thirsty vampire made me shudder just a bit.

I decided to change the subject for his sake. I knew that he didn't like vampires, "You look so tired."

Jacob closed his eyes and laughed, more like grunted to be specific.

"Let me rephrase that, you look half dead," I said, not finding him humorous at all at the moment.

He opened his eyes for a second then closed them again. "Sam had us running the entire day," Jacob said softly.

"The whole day!" I exclaimed.

"Werewolves don't tire like a normal human does. I'm actually just tired from my sleep deprivation," he snorted. "Running like that and then turning into a human will also take a lot out of you."

I stroked his face with one hand while still playing with his hair in the other, "You should rest."

"I would, but I don't feel like leaving you," he said with a smile.

"Then don't. I won't go anywhere."

"Cora?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want you wandering off alone. Heck, I don't want you to leave this house until we find the leech," he ordered me.

"Jacob," I whined but then stopped short. He was glaring at me and I knew that I had to treat what was going on very seriously. I sighed not liking the idea of being ordered around, "Fine."

"I won't lose you," He whispered still looking at me. "Not because of this. I _will _protect you," he promised.

"That's why I'm not afraid," I told him while kissing his forehead. He pulled my chin down so that my lips came down upon his. He kissed me urgently but I could still feel his weariness. Once we broke apart I smiled and leaned my head against the couch. "Sleep now, my Jacob," I whispered to him.

"Love you," he slurred.

"Love you too," I replied but I had no idea whether he heard me or not because seconds later he was snoring. I listened to his snoring for a while and kept thinking about the vampire he spoke of. He never really went into descriptions about vampires, just that they were very pale. I felt myself drifting off to sleep, dreaming about the vampire that would soon be heading this way.


	23. Slipping Away

**Author's Note: I really hope you like this chapter, well some of you may not particularly like it but I hope you think it's...good. Thanks to all of my reviewers and my Beta-Reader (you rock!). Belive me she really does, she gets all of my stupid typos and grammar errors. Lol. So on with the story! **

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**22. Slipping Away**

CPOV

Jacob was gone by the time I had woken up this morning. My whole body felt stiff from sleeping on the couch as I peered out the window. It was very early, the morning dew still clung to the trees like a white mist. It was unusual for Emily not to be up already making breakfast or fixing her perfect house. Looking out at the grey light that was spread faintly across the living room I decided to take advantage of the time I had to myself.

I know that I had promised Jacob to stay inside but I silently pushed the memory away. I hopped up and got my jacket from the coat rack by the door and pulled my tennis shoes on, not taking the time to retie them. I walked out on the porch and soaked in the light mist that seemed to encircle me. The air was slightly chilly but wasn't unpleasantly so. Looking out toward the ocean that you could scarcely see from the house I pictured a house of my own someday, realizing that I wanted it to be exactly like this one. I wondered if I would turn into a obsessive neat freak like Emily. The bushes always trimmed to perfection and not one thing out of place. Her house was always clean even the outside. The house was repainted this same white with dark blue shutters every spring.

This is the life I wanted so fervently, I always would. I felt silly for just jumping into my future like that as if Jake was just going to marry me without a second thought. Thinking about it I believe that he would. I smiled to myself when I realized that I would probably say yes. I shook the thought from my head once again feeling silly. I walked lightly off the porch making sure I had a grip on the railing in case I were to slip on the wet steps. I didn't really notice which direction I was intended to go, I didn't really care at the moment because I was thinking about Jacob.

He was the only one that I could envision myself being with for the rest of my life. I breathed in the scent of the ocean as I walked parallel to it. The wind that blew from it was much more cooler than the wind that blew gently by the forest. It was a little to cool for my thin jacket but I didn't feel like going back to Emily's. I knew that I would just spend the entire day cooped up in that house worrying about Jacob. He looked so tired yesterday. I turned to the left and started stalking off into the forest's trees.

I always did love the forest here. They were so rich and alive, even though they were constantly wet. The soil was soggy under my feet as I walked in one direction, not really sure where I was. I didn't worry that much about getting lost because I didn't make any turns through the thick greenery. But turns out I didn't have to be lost, not to die anyway.

I kept my eyes focused on the forest floor occasionally glancing up to take in my surroundings. That was when I caught something like a flash of white blazing by me and out into a very small clearing that I had happened upon. There was a patch of dark brown earth untouched by any trees or greenery. Almost like someone had purposely stripped this little spot for themselves.

I almost turned around to go back home thinking that I was just seeing things. Nothing could possibly move that fast without being seen. Even if there was something that moved then where had it gone?

I shook my head thinking to myself that I should not be allowed to wake up this early if it caused me to be this incoherent. I glanced at the little clearing one last time to make sure then I turned my back toward it and started back down the little path I had made for myself. I shouldn't even had been this deep in the forest anyway. Not until I heard something move behind me did I remember the vampire that was on its way. I prayed as I turned around slowly that it wasn't already here.

My breath caught in my throat and I could have sworn my heart stopped. Jacob had never told me what a vampire would actually look like. I would have never imagined that one would be this breath taking beautiful. But I wasn't mesmerized with this vampire that stood before me like I was with Jacob. I was terrified.

This vampire was obviously a man who looked to be around his mid twenties though it was impossible to really tell because he was so beautiful. He wore a slightly torn button up shirt that was black but had streaks of mud across it. He wore jeans but they were also scrubbed up like he hadn't changed clothes in a week. But that didn't damage his beauty. The wet clothes sculpted around his chest and I knew just by looking at this guy that he was strong. His white skin was tight around his muscles as well and it seemed to glow in the rising sun.

He didn't move but just stared at me. The thing that caught my attention the most was his blood red eyes. I immediately took a step back from him without really thinking about doing it. This seemed to make him angry as his devilish smile turned into to one of disdain.

"Where do you think you're going?" he spoke slowly. His voice was unbelievably smooth and alluring. But I had no desire to stand another minute with him. He looked at me with hungry eyes as I tried to find my voice to scream.

"Why don't you stay with me for a while?" He asked with a low voice. I could barely shake my head. He suddenly disappeared from in front of me only to be standing behind me, his mouth at my ear. "You smell unbearable good. I'm sorry but I believe that you must stay." He said with a dark chuckle.

I could feel my heart start hammering painfully. I thought it might have flown right through my chest. He gripped my shoulders painfully and leaned into my neck with his ear against it. "Mmm," he groaned, "That sounds so good."

I finally found my voice at that instance as I let out a blood hurtling scream that pierced my ears. Jacob was around here somewhere patrolling the forest. I prayed that he would hear it. On the other hand, I hoped he wouldn't find me. I had a feeling that this vampire was unmerciful, I feared that Jacob would hurt himself wanting to save me.

A hard blow came from my shoulder as I was slammed forcefully into the tree across the little clearing. I heard it snap but was to stunned to feel any pain when I landed rather hard on a rock that was protruding from the ground. In a second he was next to me grabbing my wrist and jerking me up so the I was face to face with him. I felt my broken shoulder protest but that was easily ignored as the bones in my wrist were shattered with the grip he was applying. It crunched leaving me a with a wave of nausea.

I couldn't find it in myself to scream. I was on the verge of losing consciousness from my horrified fear and the combined pain, not only from my shoulder and arm that was now broken along with the wrist, but also with the devastating fact that I would never see Jacob again. This made tears come flowing down my face as the vampire leaned in closer to me and licked my lips that has been busted from the fall.

I heard him moan again as his breath washed across my face. All at once I was laying down on the spongy dirt with the dark angel crouched above me. One of his hands were on my side once again applying way too much pressure and breaking one of my ribs. I cried out from the pain and wondered why he was torturing me or was it just that he didn't realized how strong he was. He put his face into my neck inhaling strongly. I felt a cold sensation touching my neck as his jaw flexed opening his mouth.

I was almost grateful that it was over now. I closed my eyes thinking of the face I had grown to love…my Jacob.

A fierce, ragging growl sounded from the trees and rammed into the vampire above me about to take my life. Before I realized what was happening I was being flung through the air with him. The vampire still had a grip on my side as we both smashed into a tree. My head collided with the base of the stump as he nearly broke the tree in half with his body. I wasn't fortunate enough to be bullet proof like the sadistic vampire seemed to be.

My mind screamed at me to keep my eyes open and to look for _him, _my Jacob. But my body couldn't do it. I didn't feel the pain like I should have been feeling after what I had just endured. I was numb and I felt something more worse than pain. I felt the disappointing fear of defeat. I felt myself slipping away. My eyes could only see white and a red russet color that almost seemed to blend together as my lids shut close. I fought as hard as I could, but I was losing.

**Please review and tell me what you thought about it. Even better, tell me what you think I should do because frankly, I have two options to seriously consider. Love ya!**


	24. Race

**Author's Note: I can't believe how many story alerts and favorite stories that I have been getting. That makes me feel all happy and wonderful inside. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story. I decided to use Jake's POV whenever Cora met up with the dark mysterious vampire. I hope you like.**

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

23. Race

JPOV

"_As soon as I get home I'm going to pass out on my couch." _Seth whined. It had been two days since any of us had gotten over four and a half hours of sleep. On a usual every day basis we got around, at least, eight. Being a werewolf takes a lot out of you.

"_Ugh, stop thinking about sleep. I'm having a hard time focusing as it is." _Paul said irritably. Everyone was feeling drained with the non-stop running. I had gone with out sleep much longer than this but I wasn't constantly running. We had expanded our territory even farther taking extreme precaution. It was day two, _it_ was almost here.

This seemed to get everyone back on track, some having a harder time than others even though they did their best to hide it. I put my attention on the younger wolves, particularly Brady. He was the smallest of us all and the youngest.

"_Hang in there buddy. We just have a few more hours until our shift is up." _I watched his thoughts as he masked the weariness he was feeling.

"_You don't have to worry 'bout me Jake. I'm doing great!" _He lied. The others wasn't paying any attention to our little conversation except Seth and Collin. The others had the vampire on their minds.

"_He can tough it out." _Embry reassured me breaking out of his thought. Sam had put me in charge until he joined us again. Sam had been running doubles.

Seth and Collin was worried. They were looking to me for assurance. Brady resented them for their worry.

"_Cut it out guys this is our job," _he huffed_, "I just got to get used to it. I'm the newbie remember?" _

"_You sure?" _I asked.

"_Sure, sure." _He mocked and I grinned. I remembered when Cora would say that if I asked her to do something. She mimicked me perfectly.

"_Could ya not compare me to your girlfriend? That is totally messed up on so many levels." _he shuddered.

"_Sorry. You act more like Embry anyway." _I joked.

Embry's thoughts interrupted mine as the same scent he smelled ran through us all. The hairs raised on my back and up my neck. Everyone began to go in Embry's direction.

"_Wait!" _I barked, _"Stay where you are. Are you sure Embry?" _

"_That's definitely a vampire Jake. Seriously, can't you smell that?" _He asked surprised.

"_Just making sure you weren't hallucinating," _I said sarcastically, _"Of course I can smell that."_

"_Jake." _Paul whined wanting to go near the scent. Blood lust filled his mind.

"_Cool it Paul. This could be a trap. How old is the scent Embry?" _I demanded.

He reluctantly bent his head down and inhaled the burning stench. _"Fifteen __minutes at the most." _he said crinkling his nose.

"_Collin, Brady, Seth. Continue to make a perimeter, we don't want to miss anything." _I told them. A flash of horror washed through me. How did the bloodsucker get by us? Everyone snarled at this.

"_Go now!" _I ordered them.

They took off faster than I had ever seen them run. Adrenaline coursed through us now.

"_Paul, Embry. Come with me. We're going track this leech until we find him." _I told them angry. I couldn't help but to be furious that I had let it come this close to our land.

"_We've got to warn Sam." _Embry pointed out.

"_Too late for that now. It's already here." _I said.

"_I can get him." _Seth said as he drew closer to where Sam lived. _"I can be there in ten seconds." _

I didn't like the idea of Collin and Brady being alone. _"Jeez." _They both said in synchronization.

"_Just hurry Seth." _I told him.

"_Got it." _he said pushing himself as hard as he could toward Sam's.

Paul was already following the trail with Embry close behind. I ran to catch up with them. Paul and Embry were in two separate places when I reached where they had branched off. Both were cursing profanities.

"_The trail leads in all different directions!" _Embry roared.

I sniffed around and found another trail that branched off from the one Paul was on. We kept following it, the trail reminded me of a spider web.

"_You think there's more than one?" _Embry asked.

"_The scent is all the same." _I countered.

Paul was getting even more frustrated. He cursed every time he found a new path. _"I think it knows what it's doing." _Paul growled.

"_Focus." _I snapped.

The tangled mess had to lead somewhere. I tuned everyone else's thoughts out as I looked up and scanned the forest that appeared gray in the morning light. I stuck my nose up in the air sniffing the air for something extra that could piece this all together. That was when I caught the fresh scent of oranges and peaches. I recalled the day when I said to myself, "I could identify that smell anywhere."

"_Cora!" _I gasped horrified. I could hear my heart beat unevenly as I grew frantic.

"_Relax Jake. We'll find her. You need to focus on the trail now." _Embry said calmly.

Paul was growling as he buried his face deeper into the scent. How ironic it was that a couple of seconds ago I was telling _him_ to focus. I was aware of Collin and Brady's anxiety. Seth was nowhere in my mind. He was in Sam's house right about now.

"_I need to get to her!" _I shouted mostly to myself.

I kept smelling the air for an accurate direction but came up short because of the stupid vampire's scent. I was running back and forth in different directions of the numerous paths that the monster left behind.

A fierce scream ran throughout the forest. It came from south east of my location and didn't even realize that I was already running toward it.

I knew it was Cora that had screamed. I knew down in the pit of my very being that she was hurt.

"_Cora. Please...I'm coming." _I said over and over. Her scent and the scent that we had been tracking was intertwined together, both drew closer with each stride.

From a distance I could see a pale white figure bent over another figure that was just lying underneath it. It was my Cora. I could see him clearer now. His mouth came closer to her neck where her wooden locket hung limply. The same locket I had made for her on my birthday. His teeth touched the warm, tan skin.

"_No!" _I wanted to yell but it only came out as a growl.

I smashed into him before his teeth pierced her flesh. He grabbed her tighter in a split second and I watched as she soared through the air with him. The vampire smashed through a tree while Cora rebounded off of one. I immediately ran to her but was tackled by the leech that I wanted to do nothing but tear it's throat out.

He tried to get a grip around me but I was too fast and I threw him off easily, tearing off one of it's limbs in the process. He recoiled in a crouch and roared at me with his teeth barred. I did the same as I launched into him snapping at his neck. One of his rock hard fists met my side and I heard a couple of bones crack but that didn't phase me.

I was aware of Paul and Embry closing in on us as I backed off. I had more important things to do than pick fights with a stupid leech. I bet Paul would be more than happy to finish the job. For a moment the bloodsucker looked smug thinking I was giving up. That was until he caught sight of Paul and Embry. He fled away from me but Paul and Embry caught up.

"_I'm coming Jacob." _Sam told me as I ran back across the clearing to where Cora lay.

I phased not caring about clothes. Automatically, my rage and anger dissolved into heartbreak, anguish, and fear. I knelt beside Cora who was laying on her stomach, her head turned to the side. I saw blood cover most of her face that oozed from cuts. Most of it came from her mouth. I could feel my heart tearing in two.

"Please no, please no. Cora..." I cried taking her up in my arms and putting my my ear against her chest. Her heart was still beating, but it was getting slower. I listened and heard her shallow breathes also getting slower.

I could see many different places along Cora's body that had been broken. Her left wrist and lower arm being the most visible. It was hard for me to think what other injuries she had that weren't seen right now.

It was right there in that moment, holding the broken body of the person I loved most, that I wanted to die. I could not live without her and seeing her like this...it was like a dagger was driven through my heart and was being twisted, around and around. I didn't want to exist anymore. But I had to pull it together for her.

"Sam!" I shouted. Sam came running toward me in human form staring at Cora the whole time. His face was composed as if he were wearing a mask.

"We've got to get her to a hospital." Sam said as he felt for her pulse.

"I still hear her heart," I informed him, "but she's burning up." I ran my fingers over her forehead.

"Give her to me." Sam instructed.

"No!" I spat.

"Do you want to get her to the hospital or not Jacob? You can't go walking in there like that." He said gesturing to my body.

I shook my head but reached her over to Sam. He began telling me what to do. I didn't realize it at the time but I was thankful that someone knew what to do because I don't believe I was completely coherent. It was like I was in a daze. The strongest feeling that was within me at that instant was protectiveness. I had to do whatever I could to make Cora safe.

"Here are some shorts and throw this shirt on to." He said while throwing me the clothes. I put them on as fast as I could glancing at Cora whenever it was possible. I could feel my nerves frying. My body didn't agree with her image. It kept telling me _she has to be safe, she has to be safe._

Sam reached back to me and I cradled her against my body, straining my ears for her heartbeat. It was still going. _Not for long. _My mind told me. Tears were rolling down my face and they blurred my vision. I didn't even notice Sam phasing and standing in front of me until they descended from my eyes.

He wanted me to climb onto him. I didn't hesitate knowing that this would be faster than driving a vehicle to the hospital. We could make half the time anyway by cutting through the forest. I held her as gently as I could with one arm as I gripped Sam's fur with the other hand.

"Hurry!" I shouted. Sam leaped forward and began bounding through the forest. I continued to listen, not liking what I heard. Cora's heartbeats was too many seconds away from one another.

I looked down at her torn face. Despite all the wounds she appeared to be sleeping, almost peaceful.

"Don't give up now," I willed her, "Fight for me." I whispered urgently.

I looked again at her face for some sort of sign that she was trying but it remained the same.

"I love you, you can't leave me Cora." I said almost blubbering.

We were almost to the hospital when Sam stopped. I hopped off and ran as fast as I could toward the hospital building as soon as my feet hit the earth. Sam had an extra article of clothing with him that I could see as he came running up behind me. I wasn't as fast running with two. That still didn't mean that I didn't put every ounce of energy that I had into that run.

We were finally there, the doors a few more yards away but then it stopped. I jerked myself to a stop staring down at her, the pain in my chest had grown to an even new level than it ever had before in my entire life.

"What is it Jacob? What's wrong?" Sam asked gasping.

"It stopped." I moaned.

"What?" Sam repeated.

"Her heart."

**I'd really appreciate any reviews even if some of you do threaten my life. Lol. Feel free to tell me what you think!**


	25. Diagnosis

**Author's Note: I know how much everyone wanted me to hurry and update but I have ran into some problems. Number 1 being a serious case of the stomach flu, but I guess you don't want to here the information on that. Lol. There's just been a lot going on. I hope you like this one, I'm sorry if it sounds sort of crappy. I feel like this was kind of rushed. So....here it is!!**

**Disclaimer:I own nothing that has anyhting to do with Twilight.**

24. Diagnosis

JPOV

It had been sixteen hours since I brought Cora to the hospital. When I heard her heart stop I immediately brought her to the E.R. They took her from my arms and rushed her into a room where they had a defibrillator to restart her heart. I wasn't allowed to see her but I could listen. After I heard them give the fifth shock her heart started to beat again. It wasn't very strong but I was thankful it was there.

She was now in the ICU where a constant beeping noise is made by the monitor that was attached to her. Every little beep filled me with hope just because it reminded me she was still alive. I had almost lost every ounce of hope I had left when her heart went silent. But here she was.

She was in critical condition. She could barely breath on her own because one of her ribs had punctured her left lung. They had already done surgery on everything else inside of her that was damaged. They corrected her misshapen bones, stopped the internal bleeding that was mostly located around her head, and stitched up and cleaned all of the deep wounds she had. The only thing the doctors worried about was her head. Her lung was already making progress, but they wasn't sure if the damage done to her head would heal. They only way they knew it would is if she regained consciousness. And right now, she still had her eyes closed.

I couldn't stand to look at her because the guilt I felt was too unbearable. She was covered with dark bruises. The only one that didn't look so bad is the one Logan gave her almost a week and a half ago. These new bruises weren't as bad as the image of all these machines she was hooked up to, knowing that is what was saving her life right now. She was wrapped in gauze where the deepest gashes resided. A lot of it covered most of her face. Her whole left arm was covered in a cast because not only was it broken but also her shoulder was too. It was _all_ my fault.

I promised her and myself that I wouldn't let anything happen to her. I was supposed to protect her. But here she was. There wasn't supposed to be many visitors here, only two at a time. No one came in except me. They wanted to give me some time with her. I started to sob. It wouldn't have mattered if everyone I knew was in this room, I would have done it anyway. I couldn't keep from heaving in and out deep breathes as the tears ran quickly and heavily down my eyes.

_All my fault...all my fault. _I kept thinking. I wouldn't let go of her right hand, the one that wasn't damaged. I kept stroking it as if it would somehow make her feel better. I buried my face in the sheets that were beside her stomach and continued to cry.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." I repeated. I raised my head to looked through teary eyes at her face. I kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Please forgive me," I murmured, "I should have never let this happen to you."

I laid my face next to hers on her pillow, being careful not to jostle her. I let the tears spill over as I closed my eyes and prayed that she would open hers.

* * *

EPOV (Emily's)

I got a call from the hospital early yesterday morning. My heart throbbed with worry until I heard Sam's voice on the other line. He told me what had happened to Cora then informed me that the odds didn't look good for her. I refused to believe that as I made my way toward the hospital, not even taking the time to brush my hair. I threw it up in a ponytail and drove as fast as I could to the hospital that Carlisle Cullen worked at.

I didn't have a break down until I saw Sam's face. I knew that Cora was in very bad shape for Sam to have looked at me like that. He usually done a very good job at keeping a poker face. Now that it was gone I was truly scared.

I've done nothing but pace back and forth in front of the doors that led into the ICU when Cora got out of surgery. Everyone filled the waiting room with sorrowful expressions. Even the guys had a hard time putting it together to be strong for everyone else. They all loved Cora and felt Jacob's agony. Especially the guys who had imprints. Jared kept Kim wrapped in a hug, Paul wouldn't let go of Rachel's hand, Quil seemed to clutch tighter to Claire, and Sam didn't take his eyes off of me. He was whatever I needed him to be. If I cried he would offer his shoulder, if I grew tense he would run his hand along my face to soothe me, and sometimes he just pulled me into a hug and held me there.

I knew he was watching me right now. But I couldn't just sit by when Cora could be dying. I know that I should let Jacob have time but I couldn't stand it no longer. I had to see her.

"Sam." I said almost like a groan.

He came and took my hand. "You can see her now. I don't know if Jake will leave or not but you need your time with her to." He said staring at the ICU entrance. A tear fell from my face while I tried to hold back another break down.

"Shh, it's okay." Sam said running his hand along my cheek.

"You sound as if you expect her to die." I said my voice breaking slightly.

"She's a strong girl, there's a chance she'll pull through."

"But you don't think she will." I stated to sad to be angry with him.

Sam pulled me into a hug and kissed the side of my face. "Emily, I don't know what to expect. But I have to believe that she will pull through, for all of our sake's not just hers." He pulled back to look down at my face. He wrapped his huge arms around my waist and pulled me into him. "Besides, she's got something to fight for now doesn't she." He smiled.

"I guess your right." I thanked God for what Sam said. If Cora loved Jacob as much as I love Sam then I knew that she would be fighting with everything in her. Even if it was just so she could see his face.

I gave him a quick kiss and turned to the doors. I heard him say, "I'll be right here."

"I know." I told him.

The ICU was not as horrific as what I had imagined. For some reason I kept picturing a torture chamber rather than a section of the hospital. There were small rooms lined beside each other. The walls were glass with curtains blocking my view. The patients here were in such a bad shape doctors felt they needed more privacy than usual. I remembered what it was like for me when that accident with Sam happened. I looked so horrible I wish that I could disappear even when Sam kept telling me that I looked beautiful. My hand reflectively went to the scars across my face.

I hadn't been able to see Cora yet. I hoped that I could stay strong for Jacob he certainly didn't need someone else to support. I went to the counter that was in the center of the ICU.

"Do you need something sweetie?" An older woman with gray hair that was dressed in blue scrubs asked.

"Um, yes. I need..." I began to ask which room was Cora in but I got distracted from a noise that sounded as if someone were sobbing. I looked around the room and finally spotted where it was coming from. From the corner of an uncovered glass room I could see Jacob's back rising and falling unsteadily. He was leaning over something with his face covered by his hands.

"Ma'am?" the nurse asked me quietly but I ignored her and walked bravely toward the room.

I kept my head down until I made it into the room then looked up. I saw Cora's still body that looked as if she had been beaten by a baseball bat. You could still tell it was her though. But the thing that broke my heart the most was Jacob. I don't know why but my heart broke just by looking at him. It reminded me of what Sam must have been like when I was in the same position as Cora.

I suddenly became very afraid. I knew how bad it would hurt me if I lost her now. She was like my own little sister that I had been raising for all this time. Then there was Jacob. If I were to lose Cora, than I would lose Jacob to.

With tears in my eyes I went to stand over Cora. Jacob never even noted my existence and for that I was grateful. I ran one hand over the top of her head not knowing what else to do. Finally I just pulled up a chair beside of Jacob and sobbed right along with him.

* * *

JPOV

Emily had been here for almost three hours now. I knew when she had come in but I didn't bother to acknowledge her. I decided to just give her a little time alone by not saying anything. I wouldn't have left Cora so it was the least that I could do. Not only that but I was to far gone in my grief to move from my spot.

Now we were both watching Cora. The doctor had already come to check on her. I remembered coldly what he said, "She's not getting worse but she isn't any better either."

I felt like saying, "Gee thanks for the help doc."

I wondered where Carlisle would be. I thought he still worked here. If he did, I figured he would check Cora out. Did Bella know about all this yet? Maybe if someone could tell her then Carlisle would help Cora.

"Emily?" I asked my voice rough. There was a little surprise in Emily's eyes. This was the first time I had spoken to her since she came in. I didn't know what she expected to find but by the look on her face made me rhink it wasn't good.

"Jacob?" she replied with red rimmed eyes.

"Someone need to call Bella and let her know what happened," Emily nodded her head, "Does Carlisle still work here?"

"Yes. I'm not sure whether he is working right now or not. Do you think he could help her?" she asked with a tone of hope.

"I'm not sure. But I would feel better if he was the one who checked up on her." I looked upon Cora's sleeping face and squeezed her hand.

Emily sat in silence before deciding to get up. "I'll have Sam call Bella. I'm going to look for Carlisle myself." She said. She bent over Cora and kissed the top of her head.

"I'll be back." She said looking at Cora.

Before Emily could walk out of the room I grabbed her shoulders and turned her around into me, giving her a hug. "Thank you Em." I said sincerely.

"Oh Jacob." she sobbed. "Don't you dare give up on her. You have to believe she'll come back."

"What other choice do I have?" I said as I stared behind Emily to the only person who could make me whole.

_I need you._

_

* * *

Still JPOV_

"Dr. Cullen." I greeted him as I sighed in relief.

"How are you doing Jacob?" He asked truly concerned. I couldn't find the words that would describe how I felt right then. Over whelming grief and heart break, I thought, wouldn't cut it. The only thing that I could do was shrug.

Carlisle gave me a tight smile. "That bad huh?"

"That's the least of my worries doc."

He nodded and started to check the machines around Cora. I grimaced thinking that he wasn't doing any better than the other doctors that came in here and right back out, giving me the same answer every time. _Sorry , nothings really changed. We'll come back later._

Carlisle went from the machines and started placing his hand on Cora's chest and neck. Then he leaned down almost as if he were smelling of her. I couldn't help but glare. I didn't like him touching her like that, it seemed to...intimate.

Carlisle caught my reaction. "I'm just checking to see if anything new is happening." He said distracted as he leaned in again and inhaled.

"Is there anything new happening?" I asked getting my hopes up way to much.

"I'm not sure. There's something..." he trailed, "I can't put my finger on it."

"Is it bad." I choked out.

"Like I said, I'm not sure." Carlisle leaned away from Cora and looked at her with an odd expression. "I have seen many people in the position she is in right now. All of their injuries were very similar even though how they got them were different. Some were involved in a car crash, some fell from great heights, and like in Cora's case, were brutally tortured to the point of long-term unconsciousness. Most never made it out of it."

"What are you saying?" I asked anxiously. I didn't like what I was hearing.

"What I'm saying is that with Cora, there's something different going on. For unknown reasons her body is healing abnormally fast, well only the minor injuries. Look at her bruises. Notice the difference?" He implied.

I looked at Cora's face. The once dark black bruise was now a light purple. I also looked at her arm, it was also a light purple and was getting smaller. I continued to scan her arm to make sure I wasn't imagining anything.

"This is good though, right? I mean, how could this be bad?" I asked perplexed.

Carlisle exhaled loudly, his eyebrows pulled together in concentration. "She is healing but whatever it is making her heal so rapidly is also slowing her heart. Do you notice it?"

I concentrated not only on the heart monitor but also the actual thump of her heart. Carlisle was right, it was slower. I watched him study Cora.

"You know what it is don't you?" I questioned.

Carlisle ran a hand over his face. "I believe so. I wasn't positive at first, but now I'm pretty sure what the problem is."

"Tell me." I told him impatient. The guy was really messing with what little nerves I had left.

Carlisle leaned in toward Cora again for the third time and inhaled like he had before. He then looked at me with a wary expression.

"It's vampire venom." He stated.

"How? I got to him before he could bite her. It couldn't possibly be vampire venom." I said nervously. What I was saying made perfect sense but Carlisle still looked determined.

"She has a lot of open wounds. While we are hunting," Carlisle began then decided to shut the door so no one would here our conversation, "the venom we produce pools up in our mouths. This way we can easily take down our prey. Before we take that first bite even more venom flows."

He looked at me as if I should have already figured out what he was trying to say. "Not comprehending." I said agitated.

"Before the vampire tried to bite Cora it would have been possible if some of the venom fell from the vampire's mouth and into a break in Cora's skin." He explained.

I shook my head in denial. "If it were vampire venom I would have been able to smell it."

"In your human form? Jacob, even I had a hard time detecting the scent but it it is certainly there."

I unwrapped my hand that was around Cora's and stood up. Anger was building up inside me. I was already shaking.

"What are you saying? That she gets to become a vampire now? Is that it?" I snapped trying to keep myself from shouting.

"No, I have never encountered something like this before. You have got to realize that in the current condition she is in, well, anything can happen."

I balled my hands into fists while my vision became blurry.

"You need to calm down Jacob. You are not helping anything." He said with both of his hands up. I was so furious and I couldn't understand why. I wasn't angry with Carlisle but something had set me off. I forced myself to drag in a deep breath then collapsed back into my chair."

"Sorry." I said feeling defeated.

Carlisle's cold hand lightly touched my shoulder. "I promise, I'm going to do everything I can." Carlisle promised. I nodded unable to speak. "I'll leave you now, it seems as if you have a visitor." He said kindly.

I had a lot to take in right now. It was to much to even think about. So what if I would sit here the entire night and try to think of some solution to this new problem. There was nothing I could do.

"Jacob?" said a small voice behind me. I knew that voice and it seemed as if some of my burden's were lifted. I twisted in my seat to see my best friend.

"Bella." I merely choked. The calm expression on Bella's face changed into a grimace. She walked quickly toward me and wrapped me in a cold hug. I didn't care if she was a vampire or not, I was glad she was here.

"Jake, I hate seeing you like this." she said sadly as she patted my back.

"I don't know what to do Bella. Carlisle said..." I began to fill her in on this new adaption of my recent horror but she cut me off.

"I heard everything." she said looking at Cora. "I do hope she is going to be okay. My sun has been shining a little brighter because of her." she said with a smile trying to lighten the mood. Nothing could lighten the mood I was in right now.

"I can't live without her Bells." I said simply.

Bella looked down. "Now is not the time to give up yet Jake. Carlisle will fix it." she said reassuringly, avoiding the subject.

Cora looked so lifeless, so helpless. There has to be something I can do.

**Don't forget to review! Loves ya. Btw, a big thanks for those who have reviewed and added this story on their favs. You make me feel all great inside. **


	26. Lost

**Authors Note: Lol, thanks for the reviews. I just love sitting there and reading them. Also, thanks my beta-reader! You make my life so much less complicated, seriously. For those of you who have not read The Host you really need to. It's GREAT. After reading Twilight you might think that the Host isn't all that good but it is wonderful. I read it twice as soon as I got finished reading it the first time. Trust me, you will love it. **

**I have also posted a poll on my profile that you should check out. Anyways, before I started jabbering about The Host, I just wanted to let you know that there are only two more chapters left in this story. I don't know about anyone else but I really don't want it to end. But it has too because I have been working on another story. I'll tell you more about it in the next chapter. But right now I want you to read this one. So go ahead and read!!!! Hope ya like it. **

**Disclaimer: Everything besides Cora belongs to Stephanie Meyer. It's not fair, Stephanie gets to keep the werewolves. :(**

25. Lost

JPOV

One day has now passed since Carlisle found the vampire venom. I kept trying to think of what I could do to help but came up with nothing. What if Cora ended up being a vampire? How would that change things between us? Would she still be my imprint? Would I still be in love with her? Well of course I already knew the answer to the last question. Sure, the imprinting brought us together, but I also fell deeply in love with her, just like I had done with Bella. Except Cora was different; she loved me back and with her whole heart, not just part of it.

The real question was, how do I save her? Different strategies ran through my mind but none of them seemed to make sense. By now the venom had spread to different parts of her body even though there wasn't that much to be effective. For now. So I could rule out trying to suck the venom from her bloodstream.

_Ugh! There has to be something else._ I thought to myself. I hit my forehead with my fist as if I could bang the answer into my brain.

"Is everything okay?" asked another familiar voice. This time I was actually glad to hear it.

"Um, yeah. How are you, Edward?" I greeted a little embarrassed.

"Good," He replied politely, "How is she?"

I glanced toward Cora. Her injuries were looking a lot better she could even breath on her own now. The only problem was that she wouldn't wake up. Why wouldn't she come back to me?

"I'm not sure," Edward replied to my thought.

"Can't you read her mind?" I asked.

Edward narrowed his eyes in concentration. "It's like there is nothing there, completely blank."

"Is it the same as trying to read Bella's mind? You know, the whole blank wall, her mind is on a different frequency thing?" I wondered.

"Cora's mind right now is different than what I could, actually could not, hear from Bella's," he paused, "I know that she's alive, I can sense her presence. But then again it's like she's not even there. It's so quiet," he explained.

"You mean you can't hear her."

"Not only that, I can't see anything either. Usually if someone's unconscious I can still _see _their thoughts even though they are not thinking anything directly. It's like their dreaming, but with Cora, it's so still," he said, perplexed.

I couldn't keep from staring at Cora's face hoping that something would change. I missed her expressions more than anything. I missed how she would raise her right eyebrow when she was confused. I missed how her lips would rise, causing her cheeks to dimple when she smiled. I also missed the expression she gave me just the other day when I made fun of her snoring. I would do anything to have those back again.

"Carlisle is working very hard," Edward assured me.

"I know. I appreciate that by the way. I never told him that yet," I said feeling guilty.

"He already knows. Carlisle's very understanding. I'm sorry that we didn't help you out when the vampire came."

"You didn't know. I hope Alice isn't taking it to hard. She's not used to being blind," I said with a small smile.

"She's more angry than anyone," Edward smirked, "It's the only time I've ever seen Alice so violent. I can see her wanting to rip the guy to shreds every time I'm around her. He reminded her a lot of James." Edward said with a dark look. "Whoever that guy was, he knew what he was doing."

"Tell me about it," I agreed.

Edward's face went blank for a couple of seconds then his face turned down into a grimace, his forehead was tensed together. I gave him a questioning look.

"Carlisle's back," Edward said answering my thoughts, but he didn't seem happy about the return of his father.

"Did he find something?" I asked. I wondered what caused this sudden change in him.

"Yes." he said. I couldn't help hearing the apology in his tone.

_It isn't good is it? _I thought mostly to myself for fear of saying it out loud. For some reason it would have made it seem almost true if those words were spoken.

There was sympathy in Edward's eyes. I didn't have to read his mind to know what he was thinking. Edward stood quickly and turned to leave.

"Was there anyone that Cora was particularly close to?" He asked facing the doorway.

"She loves everybody, they all love her. Kim and Emily especially. They are her best friends." I informed him remembering all the stories Cora told me about what the three of them did together. They are like sisters.

Edward bowed his head. "I think it would be wise to allow them some time with her."

I knew what he was implying. Whatever Carlisle had found out, it was not good at all. I clutched to Cora's hand refusing to let go while I awaited Carlisle to tell me the news that would destroy my life. There was no hope left in Edward's eyes when he left. My whole body felt completely numb.

I listened for him to come any minute now. I didn't know what else to do. I tried very hard not to lose my mind so I stayed very still. A couple of minutes passed before I smelled Carlisle. He was almost to the ICU.

I stared at Cora's hands until I heard Carlisle come into the room. He didn't say anything until he took the seat across from me and let out a deep breath. He hesitated before he began.

"I've been doing a lot of research about this...case," he said pausing.

"And?" I muttered weakly unable to look him in the eye.

"I've done multiple tests as well," he said stopping short again. I nodded slightly. "I won't take up time going into depth about this but I will tell you the basics of what I have learned. The amount of venom that went into her body has not been able to multiply due to it's small dose, therefore she cannot become a vampire."

I looked up at him with a small smile threatening to make its way on my lips. "That's great news, why..." I began.

Carlisle held up his hand, his palm facing out toward me. "I'm not done," he said sullenly, "Though the amount may be very small, it can still make it's impact on the cells in Cora's body. Her body detects the venom as a virus, you may have noticed that her body temperature has been above normal. That's a side affect of an infection."

"But it's not an infection," I said putting the pieces together.

"Exactly. The venom of my kind is made to, sort of heal the human body, improve it. But seeing as how it can't do that for Cora, her body is thinking that she is being attacked by a virus. This is the reason why Cora's heart is beating so slow. It is taking an abnormal reaction to the venom as well as her immune system."

"You mean, her own body is actually the one killing her?" I asked glumly.

"Yes, you could say that. It is also causing her immune system to dwindle."

"Why can't she wake up?" I asked desperately.

"Her head injuries are healed now. But her brain is having the same reaction as her heart. It's trying to protect itself from whatever it thinks is wrong with her. But it is actually doing the complete opposite," he trailed lost in thought, "If there was only a way to get through to her. If she were conscious I bet she could pull through this. Right now, she is oblivious as to what is going on."

I suddenly felt my mind start churning with ideas again by what Carlisle had just said. "Did you just say that she could pull through this if she were conscious?" I asked him to make sure I hadn't just somehow made it up in my head.

"It's a one-shot theory, but I have reasons to believe so." He said trying to figure out what was going on in my head. "The only problem is that I have no idea to revive her to her conscious state. Medicines at this point would be worthless," he explained.

"Maybe medicines isn't the answer," I said to myself.

"What else could there be?" Carlisle added, thinking along with me.

The answer had come to me after all this time but once it was there I doubted it completely. _It couldn't possibly work._ I told myself.

"Jacob? You were saying?" Carlisle asked quickly. It was the only time I had ever seen him impatient.

"Never mind. It was a stupid idea," I said looking out the window. It was dark outside, the moon was full now. I could see it shining brightly through the dark murky clouds that filled the starry night.

I could almost feel Carlisle studying my face. "It could work!" Carlisle said as if a light had clicked on in his head. I looked at him like he was crazy. I hadn't told him my idea had I?

"That's brilliant! Why didn't I think of it myself?" He continued.

"Mind filling me in?" I asked noticing the wild look in his eyes. They were almost...happy.

"I knew what you were thinking," he explained. "I've watched you and your pack very carefully. The thing that has interested me the most is the whole imprinting ordeal. I have never been able to logically explain how something like that is even possible to exist. But then again, how does everything else exist? Everyone has their own belief why or how things happen. Sometimes science can't explain everything. Personally, I believe in what you would call a 'supreme being'. Whatever it is that makes things like imprinting possible, well, I think it makes it possible for a reason. This could be the answer Jacob. You could be Cora's cure," he finished with a now serious look on his face.

"How am _I _supposed to cure her? I don't know the first thing about making someone better," I said in defeat.

"I think you do. Edward once told me that you, a werewolf, can be whatever your imprint needs you to be. Is that true?" He countered.

"Yes, of course," I told him.

"Think Jacob, think of what Cora is feeling right now. What do _you_ feel she needs?"

I never thought of it that way. Everyone kept telling me that Cora really wasn't there because she showed no sign of brain activity. I chose to believe this in my despair. But then again, hadn't Edward said that he could still feel her presence? At that moment I knew that Cora was still there, she was only lost. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the body lying in front of me on the bed. She felt so lost and confused. I could also feel that she was getting ready to let go. My eyes popped back open and stared at Cora's expressionless face expecting to see hurt etched across it. Once again, there was nothing. But I knew better than this.

"She's still there," I gasped in surprise.

"That's good Jacob. There is still hope!" Carlisle exclaimed.

I wasn't sure what to do next. "How do I bring her back?" I questioned.

"What does she want?" Carlisle asked me.

I didn't have to concentrate now to know what she wanted. "She wants to be held, to be comforted. She wants to be safe again."

Carlisle nodded toward Cora. "Then do what you think would make her feel safe," he instructed.

I knew what I had to do to help her. I let go of Cora's hand and stood beside her bed. "Please let this work," I breathed before crawling softly beside her on the elevated hospital bed. I laid there a couple of seconds looking at her still form hoping that I wouldn't hurt her if I moved her a little.

I positioned myself on my side facing her, my mouth was at her ear. I hesitantly slid my arm under Cora's back and put my other arm on top of her stomach, cradling her the best I could. I pressed my body against her and leaned my forehead into her temple.

"Her heart rate just increased," Carlisle said eagerly.

I ignored him as I breathed in and out in a steady motion. I needed her to hear my voice. I hoped she could hear it.

"Come on, Cora. I know you're still there," I whispered in her ear, my lips moving against it with each word. "I'm right here and I'm not leaving you, so don't you leave me," I said with a soft force behind my tone. "Everyone's here, they're not leaving either. They all love you Cora." I waited to see if she would react. When there was no result I still didn't lose hope. She was becoming more dominant, I could feel it.

"Keep it up," Carlisle instructed.

"You know that night when I told you I loved you? You made me a promise when you lost that bet, remember? You promised me that you would do anything I asked you to do whenever I wanted you to do it. Now, you have to keep your promise. You have to come back to me, Cora. Don't give up, you're stronger than that. I don't think I could make it if you weren't with me. I love you, with all of my heart." I spoke to her sincerely. "I'm right here, everything will be alright." I whispered comforting her.

Her heartbeat continued to get stronger but she still felt so lost. I turned my face to look at hers. I had another idea. "Carlisle, could you give me a minute alone?" I asked without looking at him.

"Certainly," he said already gone.

"I'm going to help you find me." I told her again. "If this doesn't work than I don't know what will."

I closed my eyes and breathed in her scent. I cupped her face-now free from the bandages-into my hand. I brought my other hand up to her neck and traced random figures against the skin. Careful not to tug on any wires or tubes, I raised the upper part of my body above her and leaned down close to her face.

I whispered one more time, "I love you, so much."

I closed the distance between us, kissing her ever so lightly. I worked my hand up and down her neck, I could then feel her fighting just below the surface of her mind. She was so close. I decided to let go and kiss her like she wanted me to. My mouth became harder on hers as I moved it back and forth creating a burning friction. My hands felt as if they were glued to her. I breathed in a jagged breath when I felt something grip my shoulder.

I pulled free from her mouth to look at her face again, praying that there was something different.

"Cora?" I said with a gasp.

**In case you didn't know I'm pathetic. So now I am going to beg you and perhaps bribe you to review this chapter. Please??? **


	27. How It Feels To Be Held

**Author's Note: Ok, let's get this part over with. This chapter is filled with excessive amounts of what you guys would call FLUFF. So, my advice would be, if some of you do not like a lot of fluff then you might as well read another story because I'm not going to tone it down for ANYONE. No more PMs nagging me about how stupid happy endings are ok? Because personally I like happy endings and you know what? This is my story so if I want a stupid happy ending then there is going to be a stupid happy ending. Oh yeah, and if I want my characters to express their feelings to one another then they are. Seriously, my story, I decide how it goes. You can nag to me all you want about my grammar and my lack of descriptiveness because that stuff actually helps me. But if you feel the need to tell me how retarded my story is don't, because I really don't care. I hate opening all those little messages filled with sarcastic remarks that ends up wasting my time. If you want to read something more dark and tragic then go ahead. Believe me, you will not hurt my feelings.**

**Anyway, sorry about that. That was only directed to specfic people. It just had to be said on my part at least. I am working on a story based on the Host. It's great! Or at least I think so, lol. I refuse to post it until I get this story done. So if you want to read it just add me as an "author alert" and it should update you on my new story. By the way, the next chapter will be my last. Feel free to review. Hopefully that earlier note didn't scare you away or anything but if it did...oh well. Sorry about any grammar screw ups.**

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything from Twilight!

26. How It Feels To Be Held

JPOV

Her eyes began to flutter open slowly as she inhaled a deep breath. I didn't remove my hand from the side of her face as I waited for her to finally open her eyes. I could feel her body shifting slightly as if she was still making sure that it could still move. My heart beat was increasing and swelling with joy every second that was passing by. Then finally her eyelids moved carefully allowing me to see that beautiful deep green that lied underneath. I didn't move as she stared at me, afraid that this would slip away from me if I did. But then she smiled, and I knew that everything was okay. I had her back.

"Jake." she croaked softly due to the fact that she hadn't been able to talk in days.

"It's me." I told her, strangely wanting to just burst out laughing. It was as if I was on some form of high though I was completely sober. This new wave of emotions was so new to me now it was like it had amplified.

She hummed in satisfaction. "Where did you go?" I asked her while smoothing back her hair.

She looked off seeming a bit puzzled. "I don't know. I felt like I was smothering in darkness for the longest time. I knew I was dieing, but then I kept remembering all these different faces."

I smiled at her. "What kind of faces."

She closed her eyes and I suddenly became afraid that I was losing her again until she spoke. "I saw my sister's face," she said quietly, "I wondered why she was there but she never said anything. She just smiled at me. I also, saw everyone else that I've come to know here. But," she trailed, "constantly I kept seeing your face. That's what kept me fighting to breath." She stroked my arm that was stretched across her waist.

I leaned in to kiss her on the forehead and she sighed. "I also remember your voice. It was the clearest thing that I heard. You don't know how happy it made me hearing it," she thought back on it for a second smiling more, "I can't believe you brought up that stupid bet." She giggled.

"It seemed to me that I had to hit pretty low under the belt in order to bring you back. I would've done anything." I informed her.

"Which reminds me," she said softly, "I distinctively recall this being part of the process." She brought her free hand up and weakly trailed her finger against my bottom lip.

"Like I said, you better not test my limits." I teased.

She laughed but then her face turned white. "Um Jake," she groaned, "I think I'm going to be sick."

I grabbed the nearest garbage can and helped her sit up while she threw up what was left in her system. I'm surprised she had anything in her. She hadn't eaten in days.

Carlisle was still outside Cora's room talking to one of the other doctors. From what I heard it sounded like a story made to cover up what had really been wrong with Cora.

"Doc!" I said loudly hoping to get his attention.

Carlisle excused himself and entered the room just as Cora finished vomiting. I sat her back and I could see a fresh layer of cold sweat plaster against her forehead.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked impatiently.

"I think she is alright." As soon as he spoke Cora's eyes flew open and her whole body cringed against the mattress.

I sat back down beside her and wrapped my arms around her shaking form.

"Jake...he's one of them!" she said obviously terrified.

Carlisle backed off from her not wanting to frighten her as much. I doubted if it helped anything.

"It's okay, I know. He's not like all the others he doesn't drink human blood." I told her. She didn't seemed convinced.

"He only drinks animal blood." I explained. "He helped me save your life."

Cora relaxed while eying him cautiously. Carlisle gave her a soft smile, careful not to show his teeth even though they were inconspicuous anyway.

"This Carlisle Cullen. He is a very good friend of mine. I'll bet he has heard a lot from you. His daughter-in-law is my best friend."

"Hello Cora. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Like Jacob said, I have heard _a lot_ about you." He said with a laugh.

"You too I guess." Cora said. "Sorry, I haven't really had the best experience when it comes to meeting a vampire."

"Understandable." Carlisle said in an easy tone nodding his head.

Cora tensed up again. "Garbage can." she breathed. I raised her up again while Carlisle grabbed the garbage can.

"Why is she doing this?" I asked uneasy trying not to let the gagging noise get to me.

"This is a good thing. I believe that her body is "filtering" out the venom." Carlisle said while wriggling his nose. I guess bile got to him too.

"She hasn't eaten anything since...you know." I implied.

"Well, I don't know if she would be able to keep anything down but I'll bring her something to eat." He said beginning to leave. "It would probably be helpful if we get her into a another, more public, room. I have a feeling she will be getting a lot of visitors." Carlisle grinned.

Cora leaned back on the bed and let out another heavy breath.

"She's going to be okay?" I asked him for some reason having to make sure.

"Yes, she will." Carlisle assured me then he walked out of the room.

Cora looked at me with an apologetic expression. I brought my hand up to her face and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Feel better?" I asked.

"Sort of. Anything is better than being dead I guess." She said.

There was a bottle of water Emily had brought to me, but I never used, that was sitting on a nearby bed table.

"Here, you look like you could use it." I said offering her the bottle.

"Oh thank you. I'm so thirsty." She said as I screwed the lid off. She snatched the bottle from me and began to gulp it down.

"Easy there," I warned her, "I wouldn't be so hard on my stomach right now if I were you."

Cora grimaced. "Right." she gave me the bottle back while absentmindedly rubbing her stomach.

I still worried about her. "Are you sure everything' is okay? You're not in pain are you?" I asked while looking her body over noticing all of her cuts were gone.

"Not really. My shoulder and arm hurts a little but I'm guessing they were broken." She said while studying the cast.

"It will take longer for them to heal."

"It could be worse." She said in a positive tone.

I looked down at her small hands and wrapped mine around them. "I know."

"Jacob, don't worry. I'm here now." she told me.

"It's my fault I should have never..." I started.

"Oh hush, don't even go there with me. I don't care how it happened or why it even did. The important thing is that we are together. That is the only thing I want to think about now."

"I love you." I whispered in her ear like I did when I first professed my love toward her.

"I love you too." She replied.

I bent my head down to kiss her but her hand covered my mouth, stopping me from making contact with her lips.

"Lets save that for later shall we?" She said gesturing toward the garbage can.

"Whatever you want."

Cora yawned while shutting her eyes tightly.

"You can sleep now if you promise me you will wake up." I teased.

"Promise." she said and closed her eyes. "Will you hold me?" She asked hesitantly, embarrassed with herself.

I laughed at the fact that after everything she could still be so shy around me. "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

CPOV

I woke up to a hum of voices that seemed to swim around my head. I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room that was painted a soft blue. There were no curtains that used to hang close to my bed before but now the place I was in was more open. I still could tell it was a hospital because of all the machines I was hooked up to and the lack of decor in the sanitized room. As I became more aware I finally matched the voices to the people that I knew. Closest to me was Emily and Kim chattering on and on about a topic that was uncomprehending to me. From the sound of it though their discussion was lively and a bit playful though they were bickering about something.

"What are you guys fighting about now?" I asked them. I looked up to see their faces. Emily's eyes began to water while Kim was already crying and smiling at the same time.

"It's about time you woke up." Emily said.

"Yeah, you seriously had me worried sick." Kim reached down to hug me gently. Emily kept a hand on my good shoulder.

"I can tell." I said sadly. Both of them looked like they hadn't slept in days. I felt guilty that it was probably my fault they hadn't.

Emily changed the subject and held up a plastic container. "I smuggled in something good." Emily whispered jokingly. She pulled the lid off and the smell of tomato juice and macaronis filled my noise. Immediately, my mouth began to water I imagined how good a spoonful of that would taste right now. I almost moaned.

"I guess your stomach is feeling better now." Kim pointed out.

I reached for the container and Emily handed me a spoon. It was still hot. I wasted no time before digging in. "This is so _good_." I moaned closing my eyes. I heard a chorus of chuckles off to the side. I looked over to see everyone there. They all had their eyes fixed on me. I could feel myself blush.

"Yep, she's back alright." Paul laughed.

I looked around and even noticed Leah standing amongst the crowd. She gave me a happy glance then looked away. Well, if anything good came out of this whole mess at least Leah doesn't glare at me anymore. I finished all of the container's contents before realizing someone was missing.

"Where's Jacob?"

Kim got the empty container from my hands and set it on a table and handed me a cup of milk.

"Oh he is talking to Carlisle and the others." She explained.

"Whose 'the others'?" I asked.

"I'll let Jacob explain that." Emily said.

I glanced to everyone sitting around the room. They looked so tired and worn out. Once again I felt guilty. "Jeez, when was the last time you all slept?" I asked them. They all shrugged. "You wouldn't hurt my feelings if you guys went home, scouts honor." I teased holding up my hand in exaggeration.

Emily and Kim made room for everyone else to swarm around my bed. Sam came and stood beside Emily. "I'm very glad you are okay." Sam told me, "You _are _apart of our family now kiddo."

"Thanks." I said sincerely. "That means a lot to me."

"See ya later Cora. I'll be back tomorrow." Quil said patting my leg from the end of the bed.

"See ya Quil." I said waving him goodbye.

"Take care of yourself. I seriously mean it this time." Embry said with a smile.

"No problem." I said laughing.

Jared wrapped his arm around Kim. "Bye Cora." Jared said.

"As soon as you get better we are going to take a little shopping trip to celebrate." Kim said happily. I frowned. Why couldn't have she just said goodbye instead?

"Yeah Kim, that's really something she is going to be looking forward to. First having to be tortured by doctors only to be tortured by you when they let her go." Jared said sarcastically.

I giggled at the dirty look Kim gave him. "Bye you two." I said trying to stifle a grin.

"Bye Cora." Kim said and then gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry, I'll back you up if you want to avoid the horrific shopping adventure. Believe me, I can think of some pretty good distractions." Rachel said sitting beside me on the bed. I've never noticed before now but Rachel defiantly could pass for being Jacob's sister even though she already was. She had a lot of features that Jacob had. Her perfect straight teeth, her almost black eyes, and her smile that made small dimples in her check. For some reason this made me feel even closer to her.

"I might have to take you up on that offer." I really didn't want one of Kim's shopping trips. It fascinates me that she considers them fun.

"Will do." She replied.

"I sure can't wait for you to get better already." Paul said thoughtfully.

I could tell by the look on his face that he was up to something. "Why is that?" I asked curiously.

"Well, if I picked on you now it would just make me feel guilty. I have a lot of making up to do once your better." He explained.

"Thanks Paul." I lied.

He laughed again at the look on my face. "Don't worry I'll take it easy on you since you're the newbie and all."

Rachel leaned into to whisper in my ear. "Don't worry about him, I can kick his butt. He can be such a baby."

"Heard that!" Paul exclaimed.

"You were meant to you idiot." Rachel spat back at him. I rolled my eyes at how much those two could fight but still be madly in love.

After they left it was the younger one's turn to say goodbye.

"Hey Cora, how are you feeling?" Seth asked while the other two just looked at me with child like sympathy.

"Good actually."

"That's good. We got you this balloon and this too." Seth said holding out a stuffed animal that was a wolf with a balloon tied to it. It read "Get Well Soon" on it.

"Aw, thanks you guys I love it!" their faces lit up with my gratitude.

When they left, Emily and Sam were the only one's still with me. I wonder when Leah left? Even if she had stayed I probably couldn't think of anything to say to her.

"I guess were going to go to." Sam said.

"Okay." I told them.

"If you need anything...." Emily began.

"I know just who to call." I smiled at her.

Emily gave me a careful hug and left with Sam hand in hand. As soon as they were gone Jacob entered the room. He watched me careful as he strolled over to sit by my bed in one of the chairs.

"That was something to wake up to." He teased.

"Yes it was." A room full of werewolves and their imprints were definitely something to wake up to.

He took my hand in his while staring at me. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."

"Don't apologize, you don't have to spend every second of your life with me you know." I said but didn't really mean it.

"What if I want too?" He countered.

"Then you have my permission." I said truthfully. Jacob's eyes were bloodshot with dark circled outlining the bottoms of his eyelids. "You need to sleep."

"So?"

"That means you have to go home." I pointed out to him.

"I thought you just gave me permission to stay with you." He told me.

"I did but..."

He smiled at me while standing up. "Then scoot over." Before I could even move Jacob lifted me up gently and placed me further on one side of the bed. Afterwards he climbed in beside me, tucking himself around my figure and wrapping his warm strong arms around me. This, I decided, was the place were I felt the safest. I wouldn't mind staying here for a very long time.

"Comfortable?" He asked already knowing my answer.

"Comfortable is an understatement." I curled into him the best I could getting as close to him as possible.

"Do you feel well enough for me to do this?" He asked suddenly.

"Do what?" I was curious to know what he had on his mind.

He raised my chin up and studied my face. "Yep, I believe you can handle it." He stated with a nod.

"What are you..." I was then cut off by his warm soft lip colliding with mine. They molded around mine briefly before he decided to deepen the kiss. I could hear the heart monitor beep erratically and I couldn't help myself from feeling of his beautiful face. He sighed at my touch and so I placed my whole hand against his face. Without any warning he pulled away. I could feel the disappointment etched right on my face.

He chuckled while running his finger down across my chin. "I love it when you look at me like that. You are so adorable when you're frustrated with me."

"I'm glad someone enjoys it." I said sarcastically.

"I don't know what I would do without you." He said, the once playful atmosphere now became more serious.

"Don't worry, you wont be finding out anytime soon. Not so long as I have anything to say about it." I told him. "I don't think I could be able to ever let you go," I looked into his smoldering black eyes, "You know, you are the one who put me together again."

Jacob's embrace around me got a little stronger. "Same here." he replied.

**Like I said there will be an epilogue. Tell me what you think just don't be a complete jerk about it. I love reviews and I appreciate everyone who has so far. Feel free to give any actual ADVICE. Thanks for putting up with me. After these last couple of weeks I'm almost glad this story is coming to an end. But I wouldn't abandon it for anything. Plz review!**


	28. Everything Goes On

**Author's Note: This is the last chapter, I may cry. I have been writing this for seven months now. I know this story took forever to write but I've enjoyed every minute of it. I thank all of those who have reviewed. I LOVE YOU!!! Also, a should definitely offer a huge hug to my beta-reader. You've helped me so much and I love you for all the reviews you sent. To everyone who likes this story, you guys rock!!! This has been a great experience for me and you made it awesome. **

**I will be posting a new story in a week or two. I have no idea what the title will be so if you are interested in reading it, add me as "author alert". I hope you enjoy the last chapter! :(**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to the Twilight series.**

27. Epilogue: Everything Goes On

_CPOV_

_Two years later_

"He proposed to me last night. It was my eighteenth birthday. I should have known that Emily and Kim was going to throw me a party but I was actually surprised when I walked into their living room. Everyone was there like always. I guess you could imagine what that is like. I had no idea what Jacob's intentions were when he asked me if I would go with him for a usual walk. All he said was 'I've got a present for you that requires us both to be outside when I give it to you.' It was a cold night but I never knew the difference because Jake wouldn't let go of me. I think he gets warmer everyday.

He took me for a walk down the beach like he had done the day we officially became friends except this time we knew everything about each other. It's funny how much time can change things. I didn't know where we were headed until he suddenly stopped. The ocean was a couple of feet away. The water reflected the beautiful full moon and the glowing stars.

He turned to face me with this big goofy grin on his face. I expected whatever present he planned to give me would be either very weird or dirty. What can you expect from a guy? He then grabbed both of my hands in his and dropped slowly down to one knee. The smile never left his face. I wish you could have seen how beautiful he was. He had dressed up in a light green button up shirt with a blazer and black pants. The only time I've ever seen him like that, and here I was in Levis with a brown sweater covered by a black coat. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what he was doing.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny black box. I think I was emotionally numb at the moment. 'You might as well say yes,' he explained mischievously, 'cause ya know you want me too.' I laughed at his remark but he was dead right about what he had said. You know me though, I couldn't let that slip. So I told him 'It might help if I knew what you were implying.' He smirked at me and said 'Fine, have it your way.' He popped open the box and revealed a silver band that twisted elegantly around a small diamond. 'Cora, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love you. I only want you to know that I will love you for as long as I live and that my whole heart will belong to you only.' he said seriously, 'I know that we are young but the way I feel about you will never change, only it will grow stronger. I don't think that I want to wait any longer because my life began when I met you. So...would you marry me?'

My knees were shaking but not because I was cold. I had planned to happily joke around and play with him a bit before I would accept the offer but I was already crying, like a big baby. Not exactly my most dignified moment but it was one to remember none the less. So I said 'Of course.' He gently placed the ring on my finger and stood up to kiss me. I believe that was the sweetest kiss I had ever received from him."

I ran my finger over the cool granite and the picture that was encased near the top. Some would think I would be crazy for talking to a headstone but the thought really didn't occur to me at the time. The main reason being, I wasn't talking to a headstone, I was talking to my sister. I could feel her presence right there in front of me as if she heard everything I said. I couldn't help to believe in that very moment she was happy for me. It comforted me that I imagined her relishing every detail that I told her about mine and Jacob's engagement.

I had been coming to visit Lori's grave a couple times a month now. I would always make sure that there was flowers near her headstone. I wouldn't settle for plastic ones either even though the real flowers never lasted long. I didn't mind coming here alone though countless people, especially Jake, would offer to come with me. This was sort of like mine and Lori's time together whether it was real or not. I refused to forget all the things that my sister done in my life. This was the least I could do to remember. It turned out that it helped me as well.

A cold wind blew through the silent graveyard as the sun became almost invisible in the trees. It was getting late and very cold especially since my space heater wasn't around. "I'll talk to ya later sis." I whispered as I stood from my sitting position in front of Lori's headstone. I walked down the dirt path from among the trees and hopped into my jeep that Jacob repaired for me. I drove along the winding roads that gave me a quick view of the murky ocean. This road would lead me home.

* * *

JPOV

"Hey dad." I said greeting my father as I walked through the door.

"Hey son, where have you been this evening?" He asked breaking out of a trance that he seemed to have been in for a while. I knew when my father set out on the porch like this he would be thinking about my mother. This was her favorite place to be this time of day.

"Spreading the news. I asked Bella's little pixie if she would be interested in catering a wedding. Who knew vampires could be so...enthusiastic." I had gone to the Cullen house today to let Bella know about my engagement. If vampires could cry I knew that Bella would have.

I rolled my eyes at her overemotional response. But that was nothing compared to what Alice did when I asked her to decorate mine and Cora's wedding. It was like giving a four year old a huge bag of candy, willing them to eat as much as they wanted. Alice was so excited I thought she would break everything that she came in contact with.

I looked over to Billy who was staring out across the beach. "What are you thinking about?"

Billy shifted in his wheel chair but continued to look beyond me. "Oh, I was just thinking about you and your mother. She would be so proud of you Jacob. I was just imagining how much she would love Cora."

"I believe Cora would love her just as much. She loves everybody." I said with a chuckle.

"You really got lucky with her." Billy joked.

"Yeah, I did." I agreed.

Billy glanced at his watch. "Speaking of Cora, where's my daughter to be?"

"She should be on her way. She went by the cemetery for a while." I told him.

"Well that's good," Billy said, "no one should forget who was important in their life."

I only nodded my head and soon after I could hear Rachel's car come quickly up the drive way. "Well here comes one daughter." I said to Billy.

Rachel got out of the car and walked hatefully onto the porch. My dad and I both laughed at her.

"What?!" she demanded.

"One guess..." I whispered to Billy.

"Paul." we both said at the same time.

"Ugh." Rachel breathed dramatically as she stomped into the house.

I helped wheel Billy into the living room while Rachel looked through the cabinets for food. "What did he do this time?" I asked her.

Rachel found a bag of chips and flopped into one of the chairs. "What _doesn't_ he do? He is so pigheaded." She explained.

"And you aren't?" Billy laughed.

Rachel and Paul have been married for over a year now. They have little fights every now and then that would only last one hour. Paul would be showing up here any time now begging for her forgiveness. Rachel is known to be more stubborn than him.

Rachel ignored Billy's comment. "How's Emily doing? I haven't seen her in a while."

"She coming along fine according to the doctors. They will be able to find out the gender in a few more weeks." I said stealing some of Rachel's chips. Emily had found out she was pregnant almost four and a half months ago. Her and Sam had been trying for a baby a couple of months after they got married.

I suddenly became aware of the faint roar of Cora's jeep coming down the road. I smiled wide and ran out onto the porch. I ignored Rachel and Billy's teasing me, I was used to it by now. Cora pulled into the driveway and got out of the jeep with a blush across her face. I never would forget how she looked at me like that.

As soon as she got close enough I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her until she was eye level with me.

"I missed you." I told her as her blush deepened.

"I haven't even been gone a whole day."

"It feels longer." I told her as I leaned in to kiss her. It only lasted for about five seconds until Billy interrupted us.

"Stop kissing up on my new daughter." He barked playfully.

She giggled as I set her back down. "Hey guys, what have you been up to?" She asked.

"Don't ask her," Billy pointed to Rachel, "my opinion you don't want to know."

"Okay." Cora replied. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"So, how's my favorite girl doing?" Billy asked.

"Hey!" Rachel protested.

"Sorry kid," Billy said shrugging to Rachel, "she's the only one that still offers to clean my house so I only have to suck up to her now." He said with a laugh.

Cora laughed with him. "I'm not complaining."

Billy rolled over to door and looked out at the darkening sky. "You might as well come out here and sit with me Rachel. Paul will be here soon."

Rachel got up with a dissatisfied grunt and followed Billy out the door. "Fine," she said, "I'm only going out there just because you asked me to."

"Sure, sure." I told Cora. Rachel loves Paul just as much as he loves her. She'd do anything for him.

I grabbed Cora's hand and pulled her to the couch. I grabbed the remote to turn on the TV while she nestled into my side. I didn't pay one bit of attention to the show that was playing whenever she snaked her arms around my waist. She laughed when I finally gave up and threw the remote onto the table.

"I think you've missed me too." I told her.

"I guess I did." She said with a smile.

Her left arm was wrapped around my abdomen, I could see the diamond on her finger sparkle in the light. I picked up her hand and studied it.

"What?" Cora asked curiously.

"Do you know where this ring came from?" I asked her while still moving her hand around so the diamond could catch the light.

"You haven't told me." She raised her head to look at my face.

"The silver band..." I paused.

"Yes?" She insisted.

I grinned at her. "Came from the jewelry store."

Cora's smile deflated a little. I knew that she thought I was going to tell her it came from somewhere special.

"Oh." she responded.

"But the diamond was my mother's," I told her, "the band she wore was a different size then what you wear."

"You don't know how much that means to me Jacob." She said wrapping me in a hug.

"You deserve it more than anyone." I replied.

"When she let go I kept her left hand grasped in mine. I held her hand up in front of her face so she could see the ring. "Are you _sure _you want to do this?" I asked referring to the wedding we would be having soon.

"Sure I do. Why fight the inevitable?" She teased.

"Good," I sighed, "cause I already got us a wedding planner."

"Let me guess. Alice?"

"Yep." I answered. She smiled while rolling her eyes. "I wonder what she will come up with?" Cora has been close friends with the Cullens for a long time now, despite the incident she had with vampires two years ago. She didn't stay in the hospital long after she woke up. It only took her broken bones a month or so to heal.

She grew quiet as she watched whatever was playing on the TV. I stroked her back smoothly as I thought about the day we would finally get married. I could see her now, walking down the aisle dressed all in white. That day she would truly be mine forever, and I would be hers. I chuckled when her snoring interrupted my imagination. I had lost track of time while daydreaming. I softly kissed her forehead that was resting on my chest.

"Love you." I whispered to her.

As she slept, I sat there and thought about my life in the past two years. I knew that when my children, the ones I would be having in the future, asked me about my life I would begin with the time I met their mother. Because the moment I met her, my life truly had begun, with every piece put together again.

**~The End~**

**Once again, thank you! For reading my story and making it better than what I could have made it on my own. It would make me really happy if you review (for the last time). I promise to reply back to all reviews and thank everyone personally. I owe it to you. **


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